Category: Journal

The Human Condition

So I’m on the bus this morning, not riding, because I’ve been under the weather for the past few days, when I hear the following. I figure that calling at volume on your cell phone on a crowded bus puts your conversation in the public domain.

Note that this side of the conversation is female, and in a loud and business-like tone. At first I thought that it was a business call. The tone did not vary at all, even at the end.

Hi, I’m calling for Achmed. Is he there?

…

Achmed. Is he there?

…

I know he’s there.

…

Hi! I bet you didn’t think I’d be calling you!

…

So you’re not in Morocco after all . . . you’re in Italy? Who are you staying with?

…

I miss you. Do you miss me? … Do you miss me?

…

I’m doing ok, thanks for asking. Things are looking up.

…

I have a bill here from Revenue Canada for $250.00.

…

I guess I can go myself.

…

No, I paid him some more money to stay, because I don’t know where to move.

…

He didn’t call me, I called him. But I think he has some problems of his own, I think he might have a drug problem or something.

(followed an extended discussion of the merits of the drug problem theory)

…

Listen, now that I have you on the phone, I need to ask you something. Do you still love me?

At that point I was eternally grateful that my stop had arrived, as I couldn’t bear to listen any more.

What I am Currently Reading

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, J. K. Rowling.

The Market for Liberty, Linda and Morris Tannehill.

The Body in Yoruba, Mark Dingemanse.

Reading Greek, Joint Association of Classical Teachers.

Fun with False Friends

I’m finding my study of Attic Greek also helping a lot to get back into Koine. Shortly after reading some discussions of diglossia in modern Greece, I was reading the Didache, and came across the following conclusive proof-text:

παγὶς γὰρ θανάτου ἡ διγλωσσία

There you have it. Diglossia is a deadly snare :-)

Update: even better:

τέκνον μου, μὴ γίνου … μαθηματικὸς … εκ γὰρ τούτων ἁπάντων εἰδωλολατρία γεννᾶται

“My child, do not become … a mathematician … for from all that comes idolatry.” Could have used that advice before I went to university!

Riding for Refugees

I have signed up to ride my old bicycle 50km in this year’s Ride for Refugees. This is an international event to raise awareness and funds to support and advocate for refugees all around the world.

I know a tiny bit about being a refugee — my family and I lived in the small West African country of Liberia until a few months after its civil war began in late 1989. We left with only what we could carry. We were priviledged to have Canadian citizenship and a network of friends and family in Canada to help us rebuild our lives.

Most of the 67 million displaced people around the world do not have those luxuries; they must endure endless waiting in camps, wrangling with faceless bureacracies, and starting a new life in a strange land with no resources.

If you would like to sponsor me, visit my sponsorship page.

Canadian donors will receive a tax receipt.