Ants, Cake, LANs

I told you already about the safari ants.

Two nights ago, I had another dance with ants. As I was going to bed, I unwittingly smushed a really small ant I felt crawling over me. Thanks to experience gained sophomore yearin Dan Reades room in CLC, I know that when you squish an ant, it releases a pheremone that attracts any nearby (and maybe even far away) ants. It seems a little counter-evolutionary, doesnt it? I squished or flicked one or two more, only making matters worse, before I realized what was going on..and then I looked around on the floor.

Now, I'm not saying they were everywhere...I'm just sayin.

There were a lot... After a while of just trying to keep them out of my bed, I decided to step things up a little. I havent had to use it much at all since I've got here, but I have two bottles of verrrry potent bug repellant. I wasnt sure it would work on ants, so, using some on a qtip, I drew a little circle around one of the ants crawling across the floor. It worked perfectly- the ant could not cross this invisible wall! And was running around in this little circle, trapped. After a little while it stopped moving, I dont know if it died or just got tired or what, but that was good enough for me. I then painted some of this wonderful toxin around the wooden legs of my bed frame. After getting rid of the few that remained on my bed, I was safe! Protected by an imaginary wall.

Yesterday morning I went to the primary school to see if I could do anything with their computer lab. In short, I could not. Things were basically either missing hard drives or wouldnt even turn on, and someone else had gone through it all a few months ago and left notes on how things were. So, I thought my time could be better used elsewhere.

At this very moment, Angela and I are experimenting with a tiny toaster oven she got for her house- we are making two little chocolate cakes! And it smells so amazing. I know they will be delicious, I wish we didnt have to wait for after dinner..

I spent today mapping out the network connections at the complex, labelling all the wires and figuring out what goes where. Once or twice, I had to fix some of the ethernet jacks, which proved to be a little difficult without the proper tools. With a little determination (or the knowledge that there was no other option), a handy little pocket knife, and a little bit of swearing, I got all the computers in administration connected to the network. Success. Once all of the computers in the hospital wards are fresh and clean, we will connect those as well, get the server going, and then hopefully have a fully functioning network where all the medical records can easily be shared. That is the ultimate goal, and I think it is within reach, although it might not happen before I leave (but thats ok).

I am considering going to see the mountain gorillas, of which there are only 200 in the world, all residing in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. What is holding me back, besides not knowing if they are fully booked yet, is the $500 cost. We shall see.