The phone in my office rang this afternoon, and I hesitated in picking up the receiver. I had been avoiding calls all day, in a futile attempt to stay on top of the piles of work that kept (and continue to keep) accumulating. One last ring, and I reluctantly answered. Hi, said D...I'm glad you're there. If you didn't answer, I was going to have to call the next person on my list. But you are first, so I have a rather urgent matter and need a quick response.

Suddenly I find myself actually listening to the person on the other end of the line, as opposed to trying to send e-mails and read material on my desk while simultaneously writing "to-do" lists on my white board, while feigning my full attention. Oh.....

So, do you want to go to Africa?....

And so it begins...

I've been busy being an accidental activist this past week. I'll tell you all about it when the dust settles. I have a new nickname now, though...

The primary kids have been stealing sticky tack off the pictures on the walls, mum. I am informed at the end of the school day. Oh, and what are they doing that for? I make the mistake of asking. For no reason at all..they're just throwing it away. Good school supplies. In the garbage. He pauses...they're evil, mum.

While googling around for interesting "stuff" related to my previous post today (see below), I decided to type in 1971, the year of my birth. What fun! Here's a Meme for anyone up to the task: simply type in your birth year into a google image search and post any interesting photos you stumble across. I am looking forward to seeing what you find! Who knows, maybe I'll even come up with a prize for the most eclectic group of images...In the meantime, here's what I came across:

I could tell you all about the back-to-school-and-work week, but rather than bore you with those details, I thought I would tell you about the most fabulous book I've just read. I heard about this book from Rosie, who has great taste and always makes wonderful recommendations for music, web sites and books. The book is called "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen, and I can't even begin to tell you how much I enjoyed it: the subject, the style, the flow, the intrigue...check it out! It has me obsessed with finding out more about the circus acts from the 1920s and 30s, and I now have two non-fictions on order on the subject. After doing a bit of googling, I have found a large number of fascinating web sites as well. So, I am off to further my new obsession and ponder what one might fill in the blank with for the title of my life.