Africa - sent August 12

I leave this afternoon for an African adventure.

The line-up

My best friends from high school will be making the trek – Brent Vernon and Katie Seikel.

Katie Siekel – dietician at OU Medical Center who just finished her MCAT

-- Katie has coached every national cheerleading camp since the late 1990’s. If you, a cousin, a niece, or a coworker ever attended a cheerleading camp anywhere in this country, Katie most likely was a counselor there.
-- We spent so much time in the Great Reading Room during Finals Week, we had commemorative t-shirts made.

Brent Vernon – kindergarten teacher at a private school in Santa Monica

-- The only kindergarten teacher who has headshots; he’s so LA.

-- All through high school, Brent would memorize the Beyonce dances. Somehow, we didn’t know he was gay until a couple years ago.

The schedule

We are flying to Cairo for a few days to see some of dirt triangles. They are supposedly really old and at least 10 feet tall. Next, we are taking a ferry to Jordan to see Petra so we can fulfill our lifetime dream of re-enacting Indiana Jones using only puppets made out of Russet potatoes. Finally, we are heading to Kenya for a safari, some volunteer work and some frolicking on the coast of the Indian Ocean. My coworker Subin Thomas has suggested we sing the Lion King’s “Circle of Life” upon exiting the plane in Kenya. He’s an idiot.*

* Subin Thomas is awesome, and if you friend him on facebook, he’ll probably accept. This is primarily because we created his profile for him and he has yet to learn the password.

Hepatitis is a sham.

Before leaving for India a couple years ago, I attempted a hepatitis vaccination from a Flushing clinic on a Sunday morning where no one spoke English and they just gave me a shot as I sat in the waiting room. Because they never even gave me a band aid, I had to ride the seven train back to the city wiping the blood off my arm with my t-shirt. It was included in some India updates.

Anyway, it’s a two-step shot. I was supposed to go back to finish the immunizations. I didn’t. Fortunately, my financial position has improved to the point where I can entertain thoughts of affording luxuries like vaccinations**. Before administering the last shot, my doctor performed some blood tests, which came back showing I already had hepatitis immunization.

This could mean one of two things – either the Chinatown Flushing clinic is magic and administers the greatest medical service or Hepatitis and the notion of its immunity is all a sham.

**Although, my finances aren’t strong enough for me to afford the typhoid medication. I am taking my chances with that one.