Life In the Flat Lane

Another wet, cold and altogether dreary day in London. I did venture out to the Apple store to buy a U.K. suitable converter plug-in for my charger. This became an immediate and necessary chore for today after my experiences of last night. The laptop battery went dead early in the evening, and since I had no book to read, I foolishly decided to turn on the televsion, which the landlord had proudly told me had over 300 cable channels. With over 300 selections, one would think there would exist a number of choices, which was literally true but practically speaking is a myth.

For example, the Simpsons seem to have a channel dedicated entirely to their reruns, hour after hour, day after day. There is a channel called Nuts TV which seems to be boxing reruns. Also channel after channel of American TV re-runs. Walker the Texas Ranger guy was on four channels simultaneously, Fraiser on two, with more to come later. The channel named Ape TV had a show on called Ape Music, but the satellite was out for that show. Judge Judy was on, hour after hour. The nurse from Guyana had asked me about Judge Judy after I explained court reporting to her. I initially intimated that Judge Judy was not a typical example of American jurisprudence, but after hearing her praise JJ for an extended period of time, and being keenly aware with what skepticism American judgment is regarded in Europe these days, I weakly allowed that she was indeed a no-nonsense judge, even if possibly affected a wee bit by the television cameras in her courtroom. There was a channel devoted entirely to Madonna videos, and one with an endless loop of Madonna, Prince, and six others.

"Oh to be in England when April's there" nowadays must mean not only the rain but also the cricket championships, rugby championships, and even more importantly, soccer championships, covered by all thirty or so sports channels. Indeed, I think there was more ink used editorializing about Ronaldo's missed penalty kick versus Barcelona than discussing our new president the day after election day.

At any rate, I turned to the many movie channels--the free ones. I passed on Fast Times At Ridgmont High; even though I've never seen it, it has been the butt of enough jokes that I didn't feel I would be doing my cultural education any harm by missing it. The Magnificent Seven and offspring are either popular here or they're so cheap cable companies can run them continuously.

I settled on something called Black Dahlia, or maybe Black Orchid, I can't remember. A black flower. The one with Hillary Swank. I thought that since I liked Million Dollar Baby it would be okay. I thought wrong.

So basically I feel like I spent the evening being punished. Laying on my side being punished. If television had been around in Dante's time, I'm sure there would have been a separate circle in hell devoted to forcing sinners to watch TV for eternity. Can you imagine being forced to watch the Simpsons day after day, month after month, for eternity?

But now I have a book, and I'll be reading Broken April by Ismail Kadare, and then The Concert, by the same author. And now I have a black patch to wear over my eye when I read, so I look like a retired pirate laying down reading. The patch really helps, though, because without it I can see the bubble bouncing around and it can sort of make one feel a bit disoriented. (Please no jokes about me being half a bubble off plumb).

My wasted evening last night reminds me of my favorite Spoonerism:

You have hissed my mystery lessons and completely tasted two whole worms.

So being thankful I wasted only one night, and not a whole term, with that, I'll close. Talk to you later.

dave

Flat In London

I've been in my flat now since Saturday morning, even though they changed me. I'm now at 55 York Street instead of 38. And thanks, Carol and Robert, I now know 221b as Sherlock's residence. It's just a few blocks from here. You'll be surprised to learn that the site now houses the Sherlock Holmes Museum.

Poor old Watson isn't even in the credits, despite "recording" all of the Holmes tales. He evidently learned nothing from Plato. Holmes, like Socrates, wrote nothing -- they just had good "biographers." I doubt there is a James Boswell museum in London, either.

At any rate, it is cold and wet here in London. Nancey reminded me of the Robert Browning poem that starts "Oh to be in England when April's there," but I expect Robert and Elizabeth were off to Greece or southern Italy or somewhere sunnier when he wrote it. I wouldn't at all mind being in a warmer southern city, such as Tirana, say. As a nameless lady in the elevator said today, why do you think they say April showers bring May flowers? They're trying to make us feel better. It's supposed to be dry this weekend, so I'll get out and take more London pictures for my Albania blog.

In the meantime, I'm pretty much flat in my flat in London myself. The fetal position on my right side for three-fourths of the day and all night will continue at least until Friday, when I hope to find that the gas bubble has dissipated enough that it is no longer advantageous to my retina repair for me to lay around.

Until the muse strikes again,

dave

Sunday In London

Good morning from London!  It is nice to be out of the hospital and in my own space.  I am in a one-bedroom flat on York Street, one-half block from Gloucester Street, and one and one-half blocks from Baker Street.  (Does anyone remember Sherlock Holmes' address?  I'll go see him.)  I'm about five blocks from Grosvenor Square and the American Embassy.  All in all, a very civilized part of London.

As Cindy has said, my latest little adventure started last Sunday.  I used to think medevac meant getting on a helicopter and being rushed somewhere, but for our purposes medevac is a program more than an event.  So after our post medical officer contacted our regional medical office in Vienna, they decided to send me to the European medical office in London.  I flew to London and took the train downtown, then a taxi to the embassy.  Then a taxi to Wellington South hospital (wouldn't you know it, an HCA-International hospital).

The hospital is indeed an international place.  My doctor was born in Lebanon and grew up in London and did his training in Boston.  My first contact was with a young lady from Bulgaria, then the head nurse on the floor from Mauritius, and then people from Poland, Guyana, and other places.  I thought I'd finally found someone from the English Isles, but she turned out to be from Australia.  As it turned out, there was only one lady on my floor from England during all six days I was in the hospital, all shifts.

The only reason I was in the hospital for six days is because I have to have eyedrops four times a day and had no one else to give them.   By Friday afternoon, though, I was ready to leave, so when the embassy nurse called to say they had this flat available, I took it.  I can put the drops in, although I'm sure it's not the prettiest picture.  I can't see the tip of the bottles with my eye, so I pull my eyelid up and feel the end of the bottle on that finger and the drops drop.  Eventually I can feel one hit the eyeball, sometimes on the first try!  I told the nurse that the bottles may have to be refilled much sooner than normal.  

I do have to lay on my right side about three-quarters of the time as long as the gas bubble in my eye is big enough to exert pressure on the retina.  Probably by my appointment Friday it will no longer be big enough and I won't have to do that any more.  However, it will still be big enough to prevent flying and the resulting exploding eyeball.  So I'm stuck here for that reason, unless the embassy will approve rail travel.  I could take the train to Brindisi or Bari, Italy, and then take the ferry across to Durres, Albania, about 30 miles from Tirana.  We'll see.

Dr. Zambarakji said the hospital confirmed I was following his 50-minutes per hour laying on my side routine too explicitly.  He told me he puts that in his instructions because he has some people who only stay positioned ten minutes an hour.  But in my case, after nearly 30 hours on my side, the right side of my head was filling up with fluid, so he told me to take walks in between the positioning.  So for the last three days I've taken little afternoon walks.

The first day I walked up to the tube station at St. John's Wood, then around the neighborhood.  On my way I passed the house where Sir Thomas Beecham lived for almost 40 years, in a large but modest looking white stucco house.  He of course was one of the musical icons of my youth.  I always liked his LSO recordings, except for the weird Messiah recording he did in the late 50s or early 60s.  Always wondered what got into him on that one.  Of course there's always the possibility he was right and everyone else was wrong.  At any rate, I ended my walk across the street from the hospital at St. John's Wood park.

St. John's Wood Church occupies a corner of the park.  The park was partly the graveyard for the parish, and there are still several tombstones visible.  Many flowers in bloom, from camellias, iris, tulips, and primroses.  

For my second day's walk I went look for Sir Thomas's house so I could take a picture, but I couldn't find it.  I browsed some shops on St. John's Wood High Street and took some pictures in the park.

Yesterday I went walking along  Baker Street until I found a small grocery store, where I bought a few little packages of prepared food.  Prepared dishes from the grocery store are something I usually turn my nose up at, but I was very glad to see them.  I evidently am staying in a yuppie area, because the store was thronged with 30-somethings buying the exact same thing.  They may have been buying so they could munch along while watching the Chelsea-Manchester United Premier League futbol match on TV, something which everyone I came in contact with Saturday morning was planning to do, from the hospital staff to the driver who brought me here to people talking about it at the store.  Chelsea won, by the way, 2-1.

While I was at the embassy Monday I got a call on my cellphone from a lady in Tirana asking if I could do some editing work.  I had spent two days editing a proposal for an NGO Terre des hommes, which was interesting.  That gentleman gave my name to the UNICEF lady who called.  I hope I'll be able to do some of that work while we're there.  It consists essentially of taking something written in English by a non-native speaking person, and making sure it is in good English at the end.  Thierry, the French head of Tdh, had very good command of English.  Mostly I changed some grammar and syntax so it sounds natural.  Other people in the office weren't quite as proficient, so sometimes I'd have to ask them what it was they were trying to say, and then we'd settle on the meaning and I'd write it.  It was interesting work.

London is not an inexpensive place to live, especially for those of us using dollars to buy pounds.  The rate hit $2 for one pound this week, although it dropped at week's end to about $1.96.  All exchange rates here are at or near all time highs in terms of dollars to whatever.  In the three weeks we've been in Albania the lek has gone from 85 to one dollar to 77/dollar.   Euro hit $1.60 per euro last week.  As a result, I've been seeing in the London papers a lot of ads for vacations in the U.S. for the summer.  So maybe there will be a lot of Europeans visiting the U.S.  As for the other way around, if you're planning a trip to Europe, don't not come because of the exchange rate -- it's only going to get worse.

And on that happy note, I'll close this rather long and rambling post.  I've read all the gmail emails to Cindy and myself, and thank all of you for your prayers and concern.  I am recuperating much more quickly this time than last, probably for a few reasons.  One, the surgery was much shorter.  The anesthesiologist told me that English surgeries were shorter than American ones (he trained in the U.S. also).  When I told him that the one at Hopkins had a resident involved, he laughed and said that would make it last twice as long -- a lot of talking and pointing.  Maybe that explains the 3 1/2 hours versus the 1 hour, but in fairness to Hopkins, they had a lot more to do.

In one of life's little coincidences, the anesthesiologist spent two years in Seattle (my hometown) at Harborview Hospital, so we had a nice chat about Seattle.  And the American nurse at the embassy is from Olympia.  When I told her I had lived in Shelton for three years, she asked "what on earth did you do there?"

Anyway, I'm sort of like Tchaicovsky -- I just can't figure out how to end this thing, so I'll just abruptly close.

Love y'all.

Life in Albania

It has been so hectic that I have not had the chance to even describe what's happening here in Albania. Before I start, Dave is doing well - he said post-surgery this time is easier than last time. This could be because he is in a London hospital, being fed and looked after properly. Before, he had to rely on his wife for everything (even food, if you can imagine). Anyway, we are hoping he will be in a hotel or flat by Sunday or Monday at the latest. Then, we just have to see how his eye progresses and how long it takes the gas bubble to dissipate. Taylor and I are so ready for him to be home. He's been gone for only a few days, but it feels like months already.

Since our arrival in Albania, we have learned many things. First, the unemployment rate is around 25-30%. So, there is no shortage of people who need jobs and are willing to work for American families. During the first weekend, we met many of our neighbors, American and otherwise. We arrived on Friday - by Sunday, we had an agreement with 2 other families to share their driver, Adnand. He does not have a car, but uses their cars to take their children to school. He is also a full-time driver for one of the families, meaning that he is "on call" essentially to take them or their kids, friends, etc. anywhere. So, Taylor now rides to school with Adnand and 3 other kids.

Adnand's wife is a housekeeper. She works for a family in the afternoons, but was looking for more work in the mornings. So, she is coming to our house on Tuesday and Friday mornings to clean. Her first day was this past Tuesday, so Dave was already gone, she came on her own, without Adnand, and she speaks no English. We did lots of pointing and gesturing and po (yes) and jo(pronounced yo which means no) and she got most of it. I can't say that I did. Today, she called Alba one of our OPDAT Albanian attorneys to say that Zeta was not feeling well. From the conversation as relayed to me, I think Zeta was having a seizure in front of her. Cross your fingers that she doesn't quit out of pure fright. When she arrived this morning, she brought roses from her garden. I don't yet have vases here, but found some jars that worked just fine.

After Dave left at 3:00 am on Monday, I had to locate someone to stay with Taylor in the afternoons. For a couple of days, she stayed with American neighbors down the street - Jenn and Shane. They have 3 kids and a wonderful housekeeper named Teuta (tay-oo-ta) who loves Taylor. Now, I've hired a 28-year-old teacher from Taylor's school - she teaches pre-K, has a college degree in early childhood education, came here from Belgrade with another American family, and was looking for after school work. So, this worked perfectly for both of us, and Taylor just loves her. Also, she cooks, which is wonderful for both of us - now we won't starve waiting on Dave to return. Taylor has made many friends, American, Albanian, Canadian, Spanish, etc. She is having a blast so far - it's like she's lived here for years.

As for me, I hit the ground running. My very first day was the beginning of a Financial Investigative Techniques seminar that Melissa (the other Resident Legal Advisor) had previously scheduled. We had an opening ceremony with the Ambassador and the Albanian Prosecutor General speaking. The Ambassador used this forum to express his support of the PG's investigation into the Gerdec explosion (an ammunition depot which was decommissioning weapons and ammunition exploded just before we arrived here, killing 25 people, wounding over 300 and destroying hundreds of homes in a village just outside Tirana). Because the Ambassador spoke, there was huge press coverage. He also introduced me during his remarks, so all cameras were on me at some point. At the end of the opening ceremony, the cameras kept coming to me and just filming - as I said, quite a first day. Thereafter, for that first week, Melissa and I attended and participated in training prosecutors and police officers in Tirana. The next week, same thing in Durres, a city on the Adriatic about 40 miles from Tirana. We drove there and back every day - and it takes much longer to get anywhere here. So, it was a long week. That weekend on Sunday is when Dave's eye problems began.

In the midst of all of this, Dave worked for 2 days editing a proposal for Terre des Hommes, a nonprofit organization working to stop trafficking of women and children. When documents are translated from Albanian to English, they usually require much editing to make them comprehensible. Dave did a fine job, and got a phone call from UNICEF since he's been in London to perform the same type of work for them.

This week, Dave left on Monday, surgery for him on Tuesday evening, while speaking with his surgeon at 10:00 Tuesday night, lightning struck very near our house and knocked out not only the power but tripped the GFI circuit on our generator. So, no power for the next 12-16 hours after that. Also this week, I've participated in budget meetings, country team meetings, meetings with Albanian officials, meeting with a State department person from DC who is very involved in funding OPDAT in general and my position in particular, and talking to Dave and the very able medical coordinators at the US Embassy in London who are his lifeline to the world at the moment.

Since we arrived here, the Albanian people have been fabulous. They absolutely love Americans, love that we are here trying to help them make their country a better place to live, and they love children. I mentioned that I had just read a fiction book about a school shooting, and was told that nothing like that would ever happen here. The reason - whomever did the shooting would be killed, as would a relevant number of his relatives - there are actually criminal laws regarding blood feuds - which still happen here a lot. One of the markers for getting to our neighborhood is to take a left past the blood feud house - it's now abandoned, but that is what it's called. Apparently, in a blood feud, you can't actually go in someone's house to kill them. You have to wait for them to come out. So, people were holed up in this house for years just to stay alive.

That's all for now - thanks to everyone who has sent e-mails. I have not responded to them all because I simply have not had the time. If I ever get internet at home, then I will have a Vonage phone with a Maryland phone number (301-560-4540) and will have internet access. I truly appreciate everyone's thoughts and prayers - I've tried to keep Dave informed of all the people asking about him.

Love to everyone,
Cindy

Update on Dave

Dave was examined by the surgeon last night and passed the first test - that is, he could see the hand waving in front of his eye. Luckily, he is very familiar with this process, having gone through it in December. He is also following doctor's orders on staying in position (on his stomach, head turned to the right) - maybe a little too well. The doc told him to get up and move around some more today. Although the orders say to remain in that position for 50 minutes of every hour, the reason they give such orders is that most people fail to follow them and only stay in position maybe 15 minutes an hour. So, he gets to walk around some today.

I'm going to talk with the London embassy health officer this afternoon to determine what we may be able to do to get him out of the hospital. They have a flat close to the embassy for medevac folks which is within walking distance. So, as soon as the whole positioning thing is over, he may be able to go there.

Taylor's new babysitter, Violeta, is great. Yesterday was her first day, and she made orange muffins (wanted to make a cake, but we don't yet have a cake pan here). She's 28 and Taylor really likes her as do I. Taylor has been working with her new friend Eliza on a joint science project - something about using different liquids on seeds to determine what makes them grow best - so far, I think they've used water, orange juice, diet coke, and maybe something else. They also have to taste them, which she did last night.

I have not said much about my job, but it has been one big whirlwind so far. I just returned from a meeting with Prosecutor General Ina Rama, who is heading up the investigation into the Gerdec explosion. My fellow Resident Legal Advisor, Melissa Schraibman, and her family are leaving tomorrow for a much needed, 10-day vacation to Florence and Rome. So, I'll be here holding down the fort while she's gone. Luckily, our OPDAT staff are two very well-trained Albanian attorneys - Alba and Bruna - so, I'm fortunate to have their help.

Will post more later,
Cindy

Surgery Went Well

I spoke to Dave and his surgeon last night - they did not use any anesthesia, only local, so he was very coherent. Surgery went very well. They did not remove the cataract, and were able to use a gas bubble, rather than the more complicated silicon method, to stabilize the retina post-surgery. Like his last surgery, this one requires him to be in a certain position for the next 5-10 days. He is on his stomach with his head turned to the right - this will keep the bubble pushing against the place where the retina was reattached and hopefully hold everything in place. I also spoke with him this morning, and he is in good spirits and doing well.

Taylor and I are hanging in there. We had a terrible thunderstorm here last night, and our power went out. Usually, the generator kicks right in and there is no problem - last night, of course, that did not happen, and as of this moment, still no power. Taylor, Zeta and I all piled in the bed together and the storm continued for quite some time. I'm sporting a new hairdo today, which thankfully, no one has commented on. We forget how much we rely on hairdryers, etc. Keep all of us in your prayers.

I will post more later,
Cindy

Update on Dave

I spoke with Dave last night around 10:30 Tirana time (9:30 London time). He had just been seen by the surgeon, Dr. Zambarakji. If you click on the link below, you can read a little bit about the surgeon. http://www.arnotteye.com/people/zambarakji.htm. His eye surgery on December 21 was to repair about 5 tears in his retina. Dr. Zambarakji told him that in about 10-15% of cases such as his, there will be a subsequent detachment in a different place. This detachment is in an entirely different area and is a complete detachment, which apparently was not the case last time. Surgery is scheduled for 6:00 pm London time (7:00 pm Tirana) today (April 22).

There are several possibilities with the surgery. To keep the repair in place in his previous surgery, the surgeon put a gas bubble in his eye to put pressure on the repair sites. Because he has a complete detachment, this may not be possible, and the surgeon will not know until he is operating. If he cannot use a gas bubble, he has to put some sort of silicon gel or cream in the eye, which must then be removed (I think several weeks later), and the removal is another surgical procedure. Another issue is Dave has a cataract on that eye - having surgery aggravates a cataract, so even though it was very small and did not interfere with his vision before his last surgery, it has now grown since then. So, if the surgeon cannot get a good view, he will also have to remove the cataract and replace the lens, which prolongs and complicates the surgery.

The surgeon is supposed to call me post-surgery, which will probably be around 10:00 pm Tirana time, at the earliest. If any of the above described issues come to pass, the surgery will take longer. So, it looks like I will be having a late night.

Dave is in the hospital, and they will keep him there post-surgery (unlike the US, the Europeans appear to be more civilized about hospital stays). He was pretty much incapacitated after the last surgery, so we are hoping they keep him there as long as possible. I will post an update tomorrow after the surgery.

Send good thoughts and prayers towards London.

Cindy

Here we go again

We now know what the term medevac means. Dave woke up on Sunday morning and his vision was closing in on his right eye. He said it was like someone was pulling a shade from the top down and another one from the bottom up. He waited until my first cup of coffee before he broke the news to me, and then said "I've got some bad news." Well, given that water and electricity are sporadic in Albania, the medical situation is not good. So, the medical officer here decided to medevac him to London. Dave took a commercial flight this morning around 5:00 am (left home at 3:30 am) to London, and is now safely ensconced at the Wellington Hospital (minus his luggage). So, he has no clean underwear with him, but hopefully since he's in the hospital, he won't need it for awhile. I'm still waiting to hear from him later today after he is seen by the surgeon, Dr. Zambarakji. If you click on the link below, you can read a little bit about the surgeon. http://www.arnotteye.com/people/zambarakji.htm

I will post more on here as soon as I know more. Taylor, Zeta and I remain in Albania. I could not go with him because of Taylor, dog, work, etc. Dave is much calmer about this than I am, which is true about most things. I'm not sure who all may be reading this, but if you know someone who would like to know this information, please feel free to forward it on. Send good thoughts our way. More later.

Cindy

Welcome to Albania

We made it to Albania, and the only one who slept on the plane was Zeta. Taylor watched movies the whole time, and Dave and I took turns holding the dog. It has been a whirlwind since we arrived on Friday. We went immediately to our new home, and it was almost finished (no yard yet, but it's coming). Someone from the welcoming committee had a lasagna in the fridge, so we cooked that for dinner. Taylor loves her room, the house and Albania. We went to bed early, but Taylor and Dave got up again at 2:30 a.m. and had more pizza - Taylor reported that this was breakfast, and Dave had wine for breakfast. They stayed up a couple of hours, then went back to bed around 4:30. Zeta and I did NOT join them.

On Saturday, Dave and Taylor went to the grocery with Jen, another American mom down the street. That night, we went to dinner with my DOJ colleague, Melissa, at a really great place called Sofra Et Arint (or something like that). On Sunday, Dave and Taylor went to the Ambassador's residence for a cookout and easter egg hunt, while Melissa and I met with some U.S. agents who are here to do training of Albanian prosecutors this week. Then, we joined everyone at the Easter Egg hunt. In true Taylor fashion, she met a little girl named Liza, and went home with her that afternoon for a few hours to play. She came home and saw Albanian kids playing soccer in front of our house, so she joined them. She learned the Albanian words for ball, play and a couple of other things (I have no clue what they are). Then, we all went to a cocktail party at the home of a woman from Switzerland down the street - she was welcoming her German husband back after his having been working in another country for the past year.

Today, I went to work, and Dave went with Taylor to school. He said that his presence was not necessary since she immediately ditched him and went off to class. Dave and I had a security briefing this afternoon, and now have our new badges. Oh, and this morning at the training class of the new unit I'll be working with, the ambassador spoke, introduced me as the new Anti-Corruption Advisor, and shortly thereafter, I had a number of cameras in my face. Many of you know that I always refused TV interviews in Mississippi - although I wasn't interviewed, getting away from the cameras is not an option.

I'm writing this on a computer at the embassy - we don't have Internet access at home yet, but we will soon. Write to us at our gmail accounts - we'd love to hear from everyone.

We're Off to Albania

It's April 3 and the day is finally here.  We all passed our medical exams, we've gotten a number of vaccinations (resulting in sore arms for Taylor and me), and we're finally off to Albania.  I've been involved in "briefings" for the past week and a half, and Dave has been working on getting us packed out a ready to go.

We've been staying with our neighbors for about a week now, so I'm sure they're glad this day is here.  We leave for the airport at 2:30 EST, and our plane leaves around 6:00.  We'll post as soon as we can in Albania to let folks know we made it.

Taylor just reminded me that we have not said anything about her  on this blog.  So, Taylor says hello to all her buddies who might be reading this - she is very excited, all packed up and ready to be on the plane.  She will soon be posting on here also to let everyone know what's going on.

We hope to hear from some of you soon,

Cindy