I Know What I Did This Christmas......

I got a lot of cooking done!!!

Actually, I got a lot more baking done than cooking. Unfortunately, my camera was misbehaving so I couldn't record the instructional video I had intended this to be.  At the last minute, I found an old camera and got a few shots of my yule log.  So, to make my readers hungry and to get some of you in the kitchen, here's my recipe for a Christmas log.  It's essentially a swiss roll covered in frosting.  I chose to go a step further and make it look more authentic.

Ingredients

Chocolate log
300g self raising flour
400g sugar
50g cocoa powder (don't be stingy: get the good stuff like cadbury's)
10 eggs (separated)
1tsp almond essence

Filling
1/2 cup whipping cream
100g baking chocolate

Frosting
300g chocolate
1cup whipping cream
1/4 cup icing/confectioner's sugar
Mint sprigs and cherry (optional)

Making the cake:

1. Preheat your oven (I turn mine on to gas mark 5) and line your baking tray with wax paper.
2. Start off by separating your egg whites from the yolks.  I put the yolks in the mixing bowl to go with my heavy duty  mixer and the whites in a glass bowl so I could whip them with my hand mixer.
3. Add your sugar and almond essence to the eggs and mix them till the mixture gains a yellow frothy consistency.
4. Add your flour and cocoa powder and mix.  You should have a nice rich chocolaty goop now.
5. Beat your egg whites with the hand mixer until stiff peaks form (like you're making a meringue) 
6. Mix a bit of the egg whites into the cake mix then fold in the rest of the egg whites. (you want to conserve as much air as possible
7. With your rubber spatula, spread the cake mix onto your paper-lined tray and pop it into the oven.
8. Bake for 10 minutes (you'll know it's done when the cake is firm to the touch but feels spongy.  don't burn it!!!)

Roll your cake tightly (with the parchment paper) I roll lenghtwise so I have a long log. After a few minutes, unroll the log and spread the filling. For the filling:

1. In a double boiler, melt your chocolate.  let it cool a bit, then;
2. In a bowl over ice water, whip the whipping cream till stiff peaks form.
3. Mix a bit of the whip cream in with the chocolate (this way, you ensure the chocolate ends up at about the same temperature as the cream) pour the chocolate into the cream and fold.
4. Spread the filling onto the inner layer of the unrolled cake.  make sure to avoid spreading it to the edges of the log. You do NOT want it spilling outside the cake.

Roll the log tightly, peeling off the wax paper as you go along.  Place the rolled log in a kitchen towel and tie off the ends to keep the shape (or do what I do and wrap it in aluminium foil and place it in the fridge to set).
When you're ready to frost the cake, cut off about an inch off both ends of the log.  One of these can be used to make the large bump. Now cut 1/4 of the cake off (make sure to make a diagonal cut (you'll thank me later).  This will be your branchy thingy.

Now for the frosting.

1. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler and let it cool a bit.  You do not want to pour HOT chocolate into the cream.  That would make it curdle.
2. Over a bowl of ice water, whip the cream till stiff peaks form.  Add the icing sugar and mix well.
3. Mix a bit of the cream in with the cooling chocolate then fold the chocolate into the cream.  

Spread some frosting on the seam of the longer piece of log and place it on the cake board or plate. spread a bit of icing on the  diagonal cut on the smaller log and attach that to the main log. Spread the frosting in lengthwise strokes on the entire log. You can choose to glue one of the 1inch pieces you cut off earlier to the log. I thought I'd try not to waste cake and did that. the finished product will look like this.

 Yeah, I know it's not pretty

Next, with your trusty fork of truth, lightly score along the cake. I thought this would make it look more woody and it did!  Remember you have to work fast as the frosting doesn't appreciate heat.

It will now look like this.

I chose to place chocolate chips on the log to make small bumps.

When I think of a christmas log, I imagine snow for some reason.  So I dusted some icing sugar onto the log (this can be messy if you do not have a small sieve.  I need to buy one of those)

Next, place a few  sprigs of fresh mint (I used three as I had small ones) and place a cherry in the centre.

 

And Voila!  You have one very yummy Yule Log to amaze your family with.  It looks and tastes wonderful and much as I was reluctant to cut it, it looked even better as it was being hacked at. Remember to keep it refrigerated on account of the cream.  Oh and if you can avoid having a messy board like I have, you have my adoration.

Happy Holidays, Darlings.

~Daixy~

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Amor

Image Source

What I love about you
I can't quite explain
There's a thrill that runs through me
at the mention of your name
A tremble in my belly
And a shiver down my spine,
It's the whisper of your voice;
Asking to be mine

It's the tickle of your fingers,

As they tangle in my hair
The trail of tender kisses,
that leave me gasping for air

It's that welcome intoxication

Brought on by the smell of you;
Of earth and pine, and good old hard work;
An essence that has become, unmistakably, you.

It's the way you look at me;
Hungry
Thirsty
Longing for more.
In your eyes I see a promise;
To love, to cherish
Protect and adore

You truly make me wonder
What else love has in store
And I cannot wait to discover
It all with you, amor.

~Daixy~

*You know who you are*

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Most Troublesome Network......

There's a turf war currently ongoing in the country and unlike in most others, this isn't about drugs or prostitution.  It's a TELECOM war, my dears and some generals are taking the piss in their desperate bid to claim customers and eat into our meagre salaries.

Last Thursday, I was sitting in my office when this number (054-430-2037) called me.  A lady by the name of Patricia informed me that she was calling from MTN, thanked me for my patience in advance (if only she'd known I was having a bad day and in a foul mood) and then went on to list the benefits of porting to MTN. I have to be honest, I do not recall the supposed benefits but Samuel Dowuna sums things up nicely here.

I've got to say I was surprised.  I'm an Airtel customer; have been from the very second they landed on our shores and I'm very happy with their service. I did not get why or how MTN had the brass bits to call me on my cellphone and ask me to port to their network. I told Patricia I wasn't interested and that I wasn't impressed by this aggressive advertising. She thanked me and we said our goodbyes.

After reading the daily graphic however, I figured out why they were doing this and had a real good laugh.  MyJoyOnline posted the article the next day "MTN, tiGO lose market share".  Out of curiosity I called Patricia back. She insisted that yes, she was an MTN employee and  could be located at the head office.  Yes, I should come over there and ask for her, I can confirm that she does indeed work there.  She informed me that she has been provided with a list of Airtel numbers and has been tasked with dialling them up and informing them of the benefits of switching to MTN.

According to Patricia, all the Telcos are using this aggressive method to get people to switch to their services. MTN has simply decided to lay back and relax so while the others are putting up posters and making noise to the general public, they target individuals.  "Oh you don't have to come to our office", she says, "we'll meet you anywhere you want and do it for you".

Seriously? Provided that Patricia isn't playing some silly game with a supposedly endless supply of credits her cocaine dealer sugar daddy has provided her, MTN in my opinion has gone too far.  Invading on an individual's privacy to advertise your services is not right.  In their minds, they think it's tele marketing and legal and therefore right.  But I disagree with them.  When I was in Memphis and had people calling my house, it wasn't that they'd identified me as a member of the competition and wanted me to switch services, it was simply them calling and asking me if I used a particular service say, "water" and what did I think about water?  Would I then be interested in trying out "milk"? No one ever called my house saying, "I know you're a coke sniffer but let me tell you that crack is better and you should switch to that".

I really feel that MTN has gone too far with this campaign of theirs. Airtel isn't calling up MTN subscribers on their cellphones and asking them to port.  I can't vouch for tiGO and Vodafone as I do not use their services.  I think it's a low down dirty game they're playing and have to say this clearly.  MTN GET YOUR SHIT TOGETHER!!!! I see now why you've not been spending money to advertise porting to your network.

There's a reason why they're called the "Most Troublesome Network" and they've just gone and proved it once more. Is this the same MTN that said they were committed to Mobile number portability and wouldn't make trouble? I get it, you dropped a couple of points on the market and want to redeem yourselves.  Someone on top said "fix this" and someone went overboard and gave the order to hit 'em where the sun don't shine but I can't excuse this sort of behaviour.  It's not ethical!!!  It may be legal but it's most unethical!  It's time MTN played this game right. God protect them if Glo should get their shit together.  If MTN cannot face healthy competition from Airtel, how are they going to handle Glo, which has already cleared them out of one or two West African countries?  MTN has already received a warning for their ambush advertising. I figured they'd learn from that.

I've reported this incident to Airtel (given them the name and number) and this is my two cents thrown into the fray.  I think that it's only fair that they know what their competition is doing. I also think that it's time that the NCA checked what these TELCOS are up to.  Never mind that it's legal, I haven't had to deal with telemarketers in Ghana and am damn happy for that.  I insist that we keep things that way.

Have you had any telco call you up and ask you to switch from your network to theirs?  Please let me know.  Just drop a comment down below.  I especially want to know from other networks if Airtel is lying to me.  If MTN or any other network has pulled this stunt on you, let me know.  As always, there's two sides to a coin. I'd like to know what's happening on the other team.

~Daixy~

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The Adventures of Ginger Rayne Maxen.......

Naughty Ginger stole some fish
Silly Ginger got his dish
Dessert was best served with a bone in his teeth
That he couldn't dislodge with his hands nor his feet

So Mama Daixy called the vet
Together they chased down the frightened pet
Fished the bone out from mouth agape
Finally let him make his escape

Now Ginger lies curled up on mama's bed
Quite the adventure he has led
Perhaps now he will learn his lesson
And stop stealing meat from out the kitchen!!!

~Daixy

LOL.  I wrote this one crazy evening when I got called in from work to help with a kitty emergency.  Somehow, despite my insistence that I didn't want any more pets, the cats in the house (dogs too) have become my responsibility.  And I have to say that my little Ginger can be quite the handful.  From peeing on my bed (and me) on his first day, to stealing chicken from my dad's dinner, the little bugger has now taken to mewling outside my window at 5am (on the dot!)

I know the poem is cheesy but I couldn't resist making fun of him.  Oh and the picture is of him as a kitten, tucked up in his basket. He still pulls such contortionist positions when he sleeps ;)

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Pray Tell.....

Christina Nana Araba Asamoah

.......Why does death doll out
          Sorrow
            Pain
               Abject Misery?


Is it lunacy to want to shout;
         No!
           Remain!
             Stay with me!?


I would that he'd not knocked on our door
Touched your flesh with his icy digits
And snatched you from us

I'm afflicted with
Seeming streams of salty tears
Threatening to reduce me to a
Pathetic Puddle;
A pitiful mess.

You are gone way too soon
And I truly begin to wonder
Why death dolls out, such;
         Sorrow
           Pain
             Misery
Torment of never seeing you again.


~Daixy~


Some say we should have seen it coming.  After two strokes, why should we have expected her to survive?  But you see, those who say that didn't see her the last time I did, before she left for her home.  She'd stepped out of our guest room dressed to the nines in a gorgeous kaba and slit.  It wasn't really the outfit or her neatly pulled back hair that struck me that day though. It was the smirk she wore when she walked out the room and the confident stride she took up.  She looked ready to face the world...ready to fight.


I wish I'd taken a picture...

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Silky Smooth & Sexy......

My mop broke.  That's my excuse for being at shoprite at 8:30pm on a saturday evening.  If you've met me, you'll know that I dislike the mall with a passion and try to avoid it as much as possible.  Sadly, it's the one place I will visit when I need something like a self-squeezing mop or foreign foodstuffs I won't find at my local market.

So yeah, my mop broke and I chose to go get a new one on account of I needed to finish cleaning my room.  Now, I'm gonna quit yapping about mops before I end up gushing about this new one, with it's twist to squeeze feature and easy grip.

Something shocked me as I walked bast the bath products aisle! 

See, there was a section with razors.  I love razors and shaving cream. So I decided to check if they had Venus razors.  You know, the line that's made specifically for women?  I've run out and been looking for months for venus sticks in every pharmacy or store I visit.  I figured, "Oh the mall should have them".  Oh poor naive me.

No Venus sticks!  Everything From Bic to Gillette but no Venus?

I think it was the frustration of the endless searches and the fact that I'd gotten my hopes up that made me blurt out to my male companion "Why don't they have venus razors?  Don't Ghanaian women shave?!"  My voice was a bit too loud (usually I can be heard from accross a room lol) and I could hear the couple behind me laugh out loud.  My friend said, "No they don't.  Haven't you seen the hairy legs and the beards that could rival mine?"

Come to think of it, ghanaian women don't seem to like to shave their legs.  Or faces, or their bikini area.  I once had a roommate (in college) laugh at me when I complained that I couldn't find my favourite Gillette women's shaving cream on the market.  She laughed even harder when I switched to NAIR and asked me why I bothered.

Well I think women should live by the Triple S Principle. Yes they should have SSS= Skin So Soft.  And that oh so soft skin should also be SSS= Silky-Smooth and Sexy.  Nothing irks me more than seeing a woman in a short skirt and beautiful legs that are suffocating underneath a heavy layer of hair, and yet my fellow ghanaian women are reluctant to grab a razor, so much so that a whole shoprite will not bother stocking a special line of razors for women.  You've never had a perfect shave until you've tried a Venus razor, in my opinion.  Their special bikini area trimmer is a wonderful addition to a woman's bathroom routine and their soothing solution for razor bumps is marvelous!

I saw a woman once in town and she was sporting a hairy face.  For a while, I thought she was a man until i noticed the dress.  Even the men shave their beards.....why can't we get rid of ours when our bodies decide to produce too much testosterone?  Oh and that one time at the beach where this girl showed up in a bikini but had forgotten to trim her bikini area?  Like seriously?  And you see it all the time.  Pretty women who work at the bank, wearing their short tight little numbers with orangutan legs to match....

I have lots of questions.

First is, do ghanaian women truly object to shaving/waxing/trimming legs and other areas?

2. If you do remove/manage hair, what products do you use?
3. Why do you choose to shave (or otherwise) ?
4. If your local store stopped shipping whatever product you use for hair removal, would you demand that they restock?

5. Ghanaian guys, what do you think about women who shave/wax their legs?

6. And what of women who don't?  Would you be cool hanging out with a woman whose legs were much more hairy than yours?

Let's hear from you, people.  I want to know what the deal is with this.

I've Missed this space.  Hopefully work will afford me some time to revisit.  Thanks to those who still check out this space.  God Bless,

~Daixy~

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Mob Mentality: It Can Lead to Fail

Time: 3am

Date: 31st March, 2011

Location: Mensah Sarbah Hall Annex B, University of Ghana

Event: Apprehend a female thief and show her what's what.

Thursday had me busy at work. I ignored the internet and there's no radio in my office so I missed the debates. The evening saw me having the time of my life at the Labadi Beach Hotel with my family and I got home too late to bother with anything running the gossip rounds.  Fast forward to Friday, April first and my shock at reading a tweet by Nii Ayertey about Amina and how she could have been his sister.  I thought, "what's going on now?" and followed the link to this CitiFm story.  And then I prayed it was some sick April Fool's Joke.

At about 3am on March 31st, some male students of Mensah Sarbah Hall of the University of Ghana through whatever means, decided "to catch a thief". Unfortunately, there is NO correlation between these kids and the characters in the movie/book.  No one is quite sure how they caught this girl or how they got a confession out of her. We do know though that instead of handing her over to the police, they chose to beat her up. The girl in the video clearly has a black eye and unless she did that to herself trying to escape (silly excuse really) I call these boys women beaters. I do not condone mob action and always insist on turning over suspects to the police and for good reason. You never quite know who the mob has apprehended, and you sure as heck don't have anyone in a mob listening to reason.

I do not know at what point in time the boys chose to strip her naked. Parading her in the Hall, they did more than that.  They tore her clothes off of her, exposing her bra and panties.  Even those were not spared however, despite her pleas for mercy. Bottom line, they exposed her nether regions and proceeded to taunt her, while taking photos of her private parts and even going as far as to insert their fingers into her vajayjay.

University authorities are looking into this matter but I do not have any confidence in my Alma Mater. For years, students have been parading alleged thieves naked through the streets of campus (from Commonwealth Hall to the Main gate) in order to pond them.  And the university has always turned a blind eye to the happenings on. Debates yesterday on facebook had people comparing what happened to this girl to the pondings that were delivered to the boys who stole in the past.  Well let me say this, when you stole from Commonwealth or any Hall in the past, you had a choice.  Either you went to the shrine at La or were handed over to University Authorities or you had an option of being marched naked through the streets of campus with the culmination of a "decent" bath in the filthy pond at the main gate.

Amina was not given any of those choices. These boys tore, (shredded, call it what you will ) her clothes from her body and then did something that has never before been done, even by those troublesome Vandals. They crossed that fine line that exists in mob mentality where the role of criminal and victim are turned around.  See, once Amina was down on the floor clutching her tattered bra to her chest and begging the boys not to go any farther, she ceased to be a thief in my eyes.  She became a sexual assault victim, pleading with her attackers to have mercy on her.  She became a woman begging a gang of men not to violate her person. 

I don't know how many of you have ever been in such a situation before (I certainly hope you haven't) but I doubt there is anything more damaging than having a gang of men or women (or even a single person) out to sexually molest you and you laying in a defenseless heap with nothing but your tears to protect you.

I'm still trying to reconcile what they did and simply cannot find a single rhyme or reason. Who in their right mind captures a thief in their home and then decides "Let's see what they look like under those clothes".  Who in their right mind chooses to get their Johnses off when they find a burglar in their home.  "Oh thanks for comming to rob me.  I'd like to have the sex now" I do not think that I have ever been more ashamed to have been a student of the University of Ghana and I am glad now that I did not follow my father's footsteps and join Sarbah Hall.  He's certainly upset about it.

I'm against sexual abuse of any person (be they male or female, child or adult) or animal and can only describe what I feel right now as empathy.  I wept when I saw the video (couldn't finish watching it) and wish now that I hadn't been linked to it. If I cannot condone lynching a person for some crime, then how on earth can I condone sexually abusing them? I keep thinking what if this had been a case of mistaken identity? Just imagine for a second, for those of you who want to justify what happened to her, that these kids had made a mistake.  What if they'd grabbed the wrong person and abused them in such a manner?  What if your sister had been the one they'd grabbed in their frenzy? It shames me to have people I respect and admire tell me she deserved what she got and that this time she'll learn her lesson.  It shames me to hear people I expect to do something ask me if I knew this girl and demand to know "why are you being so emotional about this?"  

No one cares!!!  A clear case of human rights violation and no one cares!!! Someone had the guts to say on facebook that if it had been a man, we wouldn't be making so much noise about it. He said to "get it right.  It's human rights not women's rights" and I set him straight. We've been complaining for years about mob action.  Been speaking out forever about the marches to the uni pond. Clearly that was championing human rights and that was when it was even only men being abused. I have never heard of a case when a male thief was being paraded naked in the streets and the girls went over to stroke his manhood.  It's plain disgusting to think of if you ask me.

The reason this person seems to think the world champions women's rights is simply this.  Women and Children have always been weaker and therefore more defenceless.  Of course when you hear stories about human rights violation, they're going to be about women being raped or molested and children being treated the same or worse.  And men, when they are abused, shut up about it.  Show me one case where a man was abused sexually and people threw a party for his attackers. 

This guy made a case of "women rape men and women beat men".  PLEASE!!! It's anatomically IMPOSSIBLE for a woman to rape a man unless she chooses to sodomise him and if you showed me such a case, I'd be first to condemn it. If it had been girls fingering Amina, I would still be talking about it.  If it had been boys sodomising a man or woman, I would be talking about it.  If it had been boys groping a male thief, I'd STILL be talking about it.  SEXUAL ABUSE is wrong and any person that seeks to justify and rationalise it away and promotes it is a big fat filthy IDIOT and should experience it for themself.

I want to see Amina fight for her justice now.  The state can do whatever they want concerning the theft but now the state HAS to round up the students responsible and deal with them.  Amina deserves justice.  She has become one of the many victims of sexual abuse and if it's one thing that I know, Victims Never Forget. She didn't ask for it.  This is not her fault and instead of men and women applauding these depraved students for their actions, I would like for there to be a united voice, calling for Justice, calling for heads to roll.  The university needs to be strict when they apprehend these students and the State should be well prepared to fight this to the end.  

I also hope that we will find a way to talk to our students.  We need to get it into people's thick skulls, right from childhood, that sex is not a tool for punishment. 

Another thing that worried me was the way in which the video went viral.  I know some people meant well and wanted the world to see the depravity of man but did anyone think for a second that it would be adding more insult to this girl's injury?  I sat down to think and I wondered, would I be okay with it, if my rape was taped and spread over the internet? Would you be fine if your friend, sibling, mother was attacked and the video making its rounds to every cellphone and computer, not only in your country but going as far as to hit the internet, where the entire world can see? So I asked the person who uploaded the video to delete it.  Did he? When I checked at 3pm yesterday, he hadn't done that.  Now, his facebook profile has been deleted. Thank God for facebook crawler bots and the report violation button :)

No matter how you look at it, there is no "justice" in what was done to Amina. This is a human being (forget her crime) who was sexually abused by a gang and she's never going to get over it.  I insist that we do not simply sweep this under a rug.  I'll keep talking about it and demand that we hear something tangible from the Ghanaian government and the University authorities.  I demand that something be done to ensure that nothing like this ever happens again. You can be sure that I'll be writing more about this, that I'll continue to make a nuisance of myself until someone in authority says something. And it had better not be along the lines of  "It is not nice and especially when it involves students who are supposed to know better..." and then nothing is done. We have a judiciary and laws have been put in place to handle these things.  Now I want to see these laws and their enforcers DO THEIR DAMN JOB!!

My heart goes out to Amina.  No matter what her crime was, she definitely did not deserve such a punishment and I pray that true justice is served.

~Daixy~

Related articles

• 'Woman thief' stripped naked and molested by University students (dustyfootgirl.wordpress.com)
• Mr. Hollatainment had this to say over on his blog
• Graham Knight throws in his two cents 
• Brian had this to say over at GhanaWeb 
• Yaw Adu-Gyamfi is on Fire
• The Ministry of Women and Children's Affairs had this statement to make
• Story over on the Daily Guide
• You May want to read what I have to say about Boobs, Vajayjays and Feet. 

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Rain Rain Go Away.....

Image via Wikipedia

Thunder Scares me

Lightning too

All I want to be

Is curled up beside you

~Daixy~

Waking up to the roar of thunder and flash of lightning, I'm suddenly reminded of the scene from "The Sound of Music" where Maria sings and dances with the children about "My Favourite things" and not feeling "So Bad". Well, Maria was a nun.  What works for me on rainy days is a special someone to curl up next to, preferably under a warm blanket on the couch with a good black and white movie running on the telly.  I don't care what Maria says, Lil' Miz Daixy insists "Nothing beats having someone warm to hold you when it's raining cats and dogs.' and "besides, my curtains need a wash and aren't so good for rubbing my face in".  Cary Grant in "Arsenic and Old Lace" does it for me every time.

Being alone on this cold dreary night and wanting something to distract me, I've chosen to make myself hungry by watching video tutorials on the art of sushi. It sure beats staring at the lightning flashing at my window and jumping every time the thunder rolls.

It's been a while since I played with food and now I must find myself a bamboo mat and wasabi, and someone to take me on a date to a good sushi restaurant ;)

Once I'm done rummaging through the fridge, I'm gonna find me a good book; another thing Maria didn't consider (music freak) lol.

What do you do on stormy nights? Love or hate them? And if you like old movies, what are your favourites?

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Relish

Image via Wikipedia

Stolen Kisses

Beneath a moonlit gaze

Tender Caresses

Effecting a stuporous daze

Heated words

Carelessly whispered in an ear

Of passion and promised love

A body’d desire to hear

Secret Letters

That bare the soul

Gifts; of food and trinkets

Intended to show

What’s written in bold

Across the heart

“I love you”

And

“I’ll never depart”

Ah, The Lovers’ delight

In Wanton Abandon

Setting  hearts afire

Since Time’s creation

And always the poet

Agent of articulation,

Stands ready to fan the flames

With generous Application

Of vivid colours and sounds

Tastes and Textures

Intoxicating aromas that abound

It’s no wonder man submits

Without much restraint

To Sweet Temptation

Like the canvas to the paint

Depicting a perfect picture

Of Love’s unconstraint

~Daixy~

Just cuz I hate this day don't mean I should be a spoilsport for the rest of you :)

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Corrupt Conductors Conniving to Cheat!...

Image by acameronhuff via Flickr

So last weekend, Obed Sarpong of "Ready to Chew" gave me a copy of Ayi Kwei Armah's "The Beautiful Ones are not yet Born.  In the beginning chapter, a corrupt conductor confesses, albeit subconsciously to cheating his passengers.  I was successfully grossed out in that chapter (and the following one), especially by the actions of the equally disgusting driver against "The Man", whose sole crime is falling asleep in the bus.

Today's post isn't about the book, however.  I haven't finished it yet.  Multiple tasks at work and elsewhere have had me so busy that chapter three is as far as I've made it.  I'm not going to rant about how horrible it is, for me not to wrap it up, especially as I'd usually be done in less than two hours but I will say that I will finish it before the next week begins (I need some me time).

It's really sad that corruption still runs rampant in Ghana today.  Things have changed since Independence and yet people still find it necessary to lie and cheat their way out of their so called poverty.  Disabled persons who have been trained by the "Ghana Federation for the Disabled" refuse to practice their crafts and prefer to litter the streets.  One cured leper (at least I hope she's cured) hangs about the National Theatre, thumping her stump (for want of a better word.  it's 4am and I can't think) against private car and taxi windows to demand money.  Not only does she bang incessantly on the glass, but she hurls insults and curses at you when you refuse to hand over money. SMH.

A seemingly blind man approaches my car and even without my uttering a word greets me with "My daughter, good morning."  Eii!  With my windows rolled up, how did you know I was a woman?  And a daughter at that! I sincerely doubt that he was able to smell my perfume.  How sad does one have to be to pretend to be blind?  Before someone jumps on my neck, I'll say this now.  There was no one standing next to him.  This was on the flag staff road and he was all alone. My perfume must have been really strong for it to permeate glass, plastic and metal. Or he's the ghanaian version of the daredevil.  You take your pick.

Even when the avenues are created for the less fortunate to make a little something of themselves, it seems the need to stick it to the man overwhelms the desire to fend for oneself.  It saddens me every time I recall a friend's story about how her father offered  a Chadian woman a job so she could take her children off the street.  Would you believe the woman run her finger on her skin then on his and asked if he was right in the head?  That "how can I come and work for you, a slave?"  And yet she was okay with standing by the road with her kids and begging that slave for money.  

What is this country and the world for that matter heading for? There are people willing to help, and yet someone sits somewhere and decides that they are above a type of work.  Sad thing is, I know how my friend feels cuz my own dad had a similar response when he offered to help one of them (eugh I hate using that term, "one of them".  Generalisation is awful! Hopefully you get that it's not my intent). After getting such an answer, you pretty much feel like dirt and that it's not worth the effort to help anyone at all.  This is what happens when we let this evil fester in us.  It becomes a dog eat dog world, with everyone looking out for themselves.

Now why am I so pissed off?  Well I went to visit a friend at Spintex.  I knew the place to be "Flowerpot Junction" Not having a car anymore, I chose to save money and take a tro tro instead of a taxi.  The tro tro to the Accra Mall was no problem but I've only driven to that area like twice and had no idea what the stops were called.  My friend told me to tell them I was going to Junction, so I did and paid 55p for the trip from the station to "junction".  Now it soon became clear that junction was farther away than my actual stop.  The lady next to me had said she was going to flowerpot and I realised her stop was the same as mine.  She told me the fare to flowerpot was 40p. So we both alerted the mate (conductor) and as i got out of the car, I asked for my change.  The mate slapped something into my hand and before I could raise my head, the tro tro shoved off.  What was in my palm? A 5p coin.

I had been swindled!  Me!  The Darling Daixy!  

I'm still amazed.  It's not the fact that he took my 10p.  Bah to heck with that.  It's only going to buy me water.  Not enough to get me gum even, and yet it still rankles.  Just because he realised I did not know where the junction was, he'd pilfered my hard earned 10p.  That's what annoys me ; being underestimated and written off as some foolish newbie who does not and will never know the ways of the street.  I felt (and still do) violated and insulted.  A girl steps out of her comfort zone (what business do I have in the Spintex Area? eh) and the first thing that happens is someone takes advantage of her?  I'm really getting tired of this.  Stuff keeps happening that digs me deeper into my jaded shell.  Soon, there'll be none of the humanity left in me, just a spectre with a strong conviction that she must never be taken advantage of. Much like the rest of the nation is becoming. 

As though I wasn't bad enough.  LOL

~Daixy~

*tro tro: mini van for public transport

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The Ghanaian Engine That...

Turned Lil' Miz Daixy Into a Giggling Idiot.

So a couple of Months ago, my buddy Tetekai over at Lyrix Chronicles wrote about "Wanting a TsooTsoo Train".  She bemoaned the lack of what we've come to recognise as a "proper train".  Thanks to our childhood books and cartoons/movies, a lot of us (myself inclusive) seem to think of trains as engines with carriages; ergo the disappointment at seeing a ratty old cargo train.

Well, I've already said this to her, but can't keep from telling everyone else that I saw a real live choo choo train! 

So umm....a friend kidnapped me Friday evening to go get my hair fixed at "Melon Salon" at Dzoworlu (you really need to check this place out).  Let's just say, I really needed a proper trim.  Anywho, I was waiting for my turn when I heard this alarm and ignorant moi, asked "what the heck's going on out there?"  Well, my buddy just turns to me and says, "Oh that's just the train". 

Just the train? Just the train?!!! Never in my entire life living in Ghana, have I ever seen a train.  Not even the snarly cargo thing that Tetekai saw. So what did this grown woman do?  I ran out of the salon to stand by the roadside, yelling for him to grab a camera.  Lo and behold, there really was a train and it was loading passengers.  "The train moves to and from Tema" my friend says and all the while, I'm asking ridiculous questions he can't possibly answer.  "How long has it been running?" "You mean to say it's been running since we were kids?" "Oh my gosh, how big is it? How fast can it go?" I was truly blown away by the fact that Accra has a running "train". This one, in fact.

source: http://www.ghanabusinessnews.com/

Yes, I waited out there for the train to finish loading and then watched it finally pull out.  I counted six (6) carriages! Did I mention I was holding my friend's hand the whole time? (Poor guy didn't get why I was so excited, lol) My mind must have swapped with that of a four year old or something because I really did giggle, gasp and laugh with obvious glee as the red, gold and green worm snaked it's way out of my sight.

And then I called Tetekai to scream about it, like the excited schoolgirl I am inside!  It didn't end there though.  While pinned under the good old comb and scissors, the train passed by on it's way from Tema.  I forgot to ask where in Accra it ends.  You'd think I'd have my fill of trains after that, right?  No way!  As we were driving from Dzoworlu into Osu, we were stopped right before the train tracks.  Why? The train was passing through, AGAIN on its way to Tema.  Of course, that had me on the phone once more, rubbing it into poor Tetekai's face (or ears, if you will) that I'd seen a real train.

I'm not joking about this.  Forget the subways in New York and such that I've seen and been on, I have NEVER set eyes on any sort of train in Ghana  (unless you count the kiddie trains at the Efua Sutherland Children's Park).  

Now all that remains for me to do is take a ride on Accra's CHOO CHOO TRAIN!!!

Happy New Year!!!

~Daixy~

PS. I know it's so very American of me to say "choo choo" instead of "tsoo tsoo" but until I heard Keteke's Tsoo Tsoo in 2000, I had no idea ghanaians called it that lol.

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