|
|
Friday, May 12, 1978, 6:00 pm, Day 836
I've been doing alot of paperwork these past few days, and it has had both its good and its bad points. First, the good point. I've been working on the Saiama design and I should complete it tomorrow. So far, it is 27 pages long, and by the time that I am finished, it should top out at about 40 pages. Everything included is necessary, consise, well-organized, and easily comprehensible, and detailed completely. It's the best design that I have done so far.
Saiama was originally to be a pump and well system, but this time I went back and looked over the hydraulic ram possibilities again. I checked out 7 different sites and found 4 of them to be possible. I then picked the best one and designed for it.
Now for the bad points. All of this paperwork makes me very short tempered, if not actually ill-tempered. I think that it is mostly short tempered. If someone does something that I don't like, I quickly lose my temper. I don't waste words, but just haul off and beat them. Two times today that happened, and once yesterday. On the other hand, if the person is friendly and doesn't do anything that bugs me, then I've been quite pleasant and friendly to them, so it isn't just me. Like today, I got carried away, and I'd swear I came close to breaking one woman's arm. Instead, I had her by the arm and rushed her out the door, and when we were almost across the parlor, I pushed her, and she banged into the door on the other wall going 60 mph. Luckily, she wasn't hurt, but she sure could have been.
I got carried away and was sorry for what I had done. I kept saying over and over to myself, "I almost broke her arm. I almost broke her arm.", and shaking my head in disgust at myself. she had something coming, but not as much as she got.
The story is a long one. Her name is Sia Konde, and she has a long reputation of getting into everything that i keep on my shelves by the door. Yesterday she came to my room while I was busy doing my paperwork, and started fingering all of my spare change, small chop, and personal items that were on my shelves. I finally got her to stop by giving her a lecture, telling her that I didn't like people touching all of my things like that.
This bugged me so much that finally, after putting up with it for more than a year here, I rearranged my room a bit by moving the shelves away from the door and putting them against the far wall, next to the table where I work. The reason for this is two-fold. First, it would decrease thiefing of my things, as a person would now have to enter completely into my room, and second, that if someone did start to dig through my things, I would have a better chance of catching them than before. Sitting in my chair where I work, the person could always be out the door before I could catch them, the way it was before. The present way though, now making it as far for them to the door as it does for me, so I am assurred of catching them.
It worked like a charm. Sia Konde came by again today. She started off okay. She was pleasant and so, so was I. She wasn't getting into anything that she wasn't supposed to, so she wasn't bugging me. She asked me for some vasoline to rub on her hair, so I let her take some. When she was done though, she slipped back to her old ways. Her hand automatically went for my spare change dish, and I was up out of my chair and had grabbed her before either one of us knew what was happening. I hope she doesn't try it again.
Saturday, May 13, 1978, 8:00 pm, Day 837
Dance de tonight!, and I think I'm ready for it. It has already started and I can hear the music clearly, even though the place is on the other end of town.
Looking at my situation yesterday, I figured that I would be in a good mood by dance time. The reason for this was that the design was almost finished, and so it needed only a little light paperwork today to finish it up. So therefore, I wouldn't be over-working myself today. Then also there is the fact that finally completing a project always gives me satisfaction and a sense of well being. Then, I just sit back and enjoy. It worked out fine today. I am putting ten people inside tonight.
Tuesday, May 16, 1978, 10:00 pm, Day 840
Things have really been getting acomplished lately. Just today, I finished up the "Water System Design Handbook" that I've been working on. Then after that, I sat down for awhile and wrote up all of the lesson plans for the training program. Everything is ready to go now. Today, Moiba started in on the Bagbema design, and so I've also been keeping an eye on how he's been doing. He is halfway through with the network design and things are looking good. Possibly starting tomorrow, since I now have nothing else to do, I might get back to designing the Jagbwema system. I think that there is enough time for me to finish this design also, before I go back to Freetown. That would make this an impressive 5 weeks up country. In those 5 weeks, I would have completed two village surveys, three system designs, one system design handbook, and all of the training lessons. Considering that in the other 17 months before that, that I have been here, I have only surveyed 5 villages and completed two designs, that's not doing too bad.
I am going to suggest that they hold this next training program up here in Yarya, in the Kono district. Moiba is interested in being the language instructor, and he is a Kono, so he could teach them a bit of Kono also, besides just Krio. This will be good, because besides training in a Kono village, I also am going to suggest that two of the new volunteers be stationed in the Kono district. One would stay in Yarya to do that system, and one would take my place here to finish up Kamiendor, and also get Saiama built.
For my part, I am seriously considering switching over to Fred Hoyt's old job, that of being volunteer leader to the rest of the water supply volunteers. That would mean that I would be based in Freetown, give up my Honda, and have the use of the MEP landrover and driver. I would be the other volunteers' Freetown man, and would have the job of trying to keep things going on their projects, while they are busy up country. I would also be making periodic site visits.
Right now, nobody has the job, but it should be filled by someone who is both a civil engineer, and has been around long enough to know how things work. I am the only person who fits that bill.
If I wanted, I could probably be in charge of this whole next training program, including both CARE feeder roads and water systems volunteer trainees. The only catch is that my leave time comes right before training, so that I wouldn't be present for most of the preperation.
Friday, May 19, 1978, 7:00 am, Day 843
I finished up the Jagbwema design yesterday. It came out to 63 pages. This morning I am going to put the carbon copy together.
The Jagbwema project seems to be too much to handle. It has a 3.5 mile long supply line, and over 2 miles of distribution pipe. Also required is an 18,000 gallon tank raised 16 feet off the ground. Overall dimensions of the tank come out to be 19 feet in diameter and 32.5 feet high.
I estimated that this project would need 721 working days to construct, which would be about 3 years. I don't think that Peace Corps would put a volunteer there for a 3 year project.
I was considering working on the Densembadu system design today and tomorrow, but I don't know if I will. Completing this other design yesterday sort of burned me out, so that today I might just take the day off. Also, I might possibly work at drawing up some of the plans for the Jagbwema design.
|
