Moving Thoughts

Published June 29, 2009 @ 08:50AM PT

When planning a move in San Francisco, perhaps best not to schedule said move the same day as the Gay Pride Parade. Especially when one's new apartment lies a block off the parade route.

The move has since been temporarily rescheduled.

All of which gave me plenty of time last night to remember other transportation-related life lessons, such as:

- In Los Angeles - surface roads, surface roads, surface roads.

- In Mosul, don't make eye contact. Also best not to laugh at an Iraqi policeman wearing a cowboy hat that looked as tho it had once been owned by the Village People. Or Barbra Streisand. Especially if said policeman is currently screaming at you to pull over.

- In Nairobi, it's useful to remember the exact location of the various unmarked speedbumps on major roads. Especially, say, near the intersection of James Gichuru and Gitanga.

That speedbump was my white whale.

- In Kabul, armored vehicles always have the right of way. (Also best not to dwell on the amount of fecal matter in the air. Then again, who doesn't love open sewers?)

Re-reading this, I fear I've failed the Nicholas Kristof inadequacy test. So it goes, so it goes. We'll return with our regularly scheduled humanitarian-blogging manyana.

[Photo from www.bestgaytoronto.com]

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You need more gay friends, Michael.

Posted by Transitionl... . on 06/29/2009 @ 10:21AM PT
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Laughing - so true

Posted by Michael Bear on 06/29/2009 @ 10:52AM PT
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Michael has worked for NGOs in Afghanistan, across east and central Africa, and Iraq. Prior to going overseas, he worked on a project providing assistance to the United Nations on the application of International Humanitarian Law to the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict.