argh. to recap, by the numbers:
- 72: hours I spent in transit here, instead of the usual 24. So instead of arriving Saturday night with a day to rest, I had to take a red-eye in from Frankfurt and arrived on a Monday morning.. then had to work a full week with no time to recover from the 7 hour time difference.
- 3: number of bags lost on the trip, including my CARRY-ON, which the gate agent made me check in Frankfurt. She promised me there was no way it could fail to get on the flight, so I refused the baggage agent's offer to complete a lost luggage form in triplicate and made a guard walk around with me for two hours in the back of the airport until I finally found it in a pile of bags from Sudan.
- 1.5: the number of weeks it took my checked backpack to catch up with me...and then I really bemoaned my idiotic packing as that bag only contained a sleeping bag, a raincoat, 100 records I was bringing across for a friend from New Orleans, and 2 boxes of granola bars. All good loot but really I just wanted some clothes at that point.
- 2.5: the number of weeks it took my checked suitcase to catch up with me.
- 1: the number of pairs of pants I had to wear for 2.5 weeks because of said idiotic packing.

- 2: weeks I walked around with a super bad cough that would not go away.
- 10: days I just learned I've worked without pay after receiving an email informing me my contract fell through on June 30.
- 3: number of jane austen books I read on my kindle on a six hour drive from a field site that inexplicably stretched into 12.5 hours in traffic (persuasion, emma, and pride and prejudice. jane austen is my happy place.)

- 300: US dollars I lost when my pocket was picked last night. Also my license and bank card, since I had JUST gone to the bank.
- 21: days it has rained of the 21 days I have been here. They don't call it the rainy season for nothing.

- 1: more day of this uphill battle of a trip. Good thing I'm heading home tomorrow. Yes, there were many many good moments with friends and colleagues, but this was one of those trips I could do without. Gah.

11:43 a.m. - 2012-07-15