After Christmas travels and hosting the Wartburg Seminary group, I’m getting focused on the work ahead. Yesterday, I was right back into a Zoom meeting and working with technical and language editors for a research group anthology project, for which I am one of the editors.
Today, this meant trying to move my work permit process ahead. The next step is paying the $500 registration for a 12-month research permit. I’m not sure, but there may be another $300 to $500 for the visa! (Ca-ching!) I did not know this when I budgeted! I made three trips up to the administration building after the morning rains to try to get this done, but the person was not available. Hopefully, there will be a connection tomorrow morning—and no rains.
I did get up early and do some laundry before breakfast. I was hoping to catch a couple hours of partial sun for the drying during the day. I perhaps got an hour in before sunset. Now, the clothes are hung up inside with my small fan trying to circulate some air. I have hope that the musty smell won’t set in.
There were many delayed emails and small tasks to deal with. Much of the afternoon was getting a collaboratively written article ready for publishing. I hate endnotes! I had to recreate all the endnotes in the Microsoft word reference tool. Yuck!
We have about 40 words to cut to get down to the word limit. The article examines using a tri-polar comparative process I’ve developed to compare the text of Isaiah 62 and a hymn based on the text written by Lina Sandell (the writer of Children of the Heavenly Father and about 2,000 other songs and poems). The process uses Biblical Performance Criticism (BPC) for comparison, where my collaborator, Johanna Rönnlund, does the heavy lifting.
Unfortunately, the Internet has been inconsistent. Sometimes I just use data with my phone providing a hotspot. Sometimes, I just work offline and save up tasks for the next time I have Internet. It is not an efficient way of working.
While it is good to return to my project full steam ahead, it is rather quiet around here now. President Kristin Largen was in my guest room and learned how to navigate my less than normal bathroom. I have plastic sheeting forming a funnel attached to the ceiling to keep the dripping water controlled in its descent into the tub—and not dripping on a body trying to get clean. It was a joy to have a bit of shared life with Kristin these days.
Mungu akubariki! (God bless you! in Kiswahili)
Mikitamayana Engai! (God bless you! in Maa)
You’re looking good.