Scattered Thoughts

Sorry for my incredible lack of writing this month -- and no, I haven't really been keeping a journal either, except for our work log, so I hope I can remember things as I get the time to write them down.

Just a few thoughts from recent work:

*This morning Merete and I spent nearly $100 USD on lights and replacement parts for fixtures in one of our hospitals from damage done by a power surge. This basically uses our parts budget and secondary project funds, which I can totally justify, saying that light is an integral part of medicine working effectively and things being done well. On the other hand, it's a classic case of treating the symptoms without addressing the disease. We fixed the parts and are putting in the new bulbs, but in the case of another power surge the hospital will once again be out of luck as things blow. As we were working, I got to talk with one of the technicians about the only real solution: a system-wide surge protector. This technology is available, and he even has the card for a guy in Nairobi who can do it. However, who's going to take the initiative to do it? My thoughts are perhaps this is something that a charitable organization could take up, or even the hospital itself! Inevitably, there are things that get replaced with budget money over the course of a year. It would take planning and probably some creative working, but it would save money in the long run if the actual root of the problem was treated! ...right now wishful thinking, but I'll keep musing on this one....

*As an engineer in the hospital, my life an exposures are relatively clean and tidy -- I see the patients that are mobile, talk to the doctors, and socialize with staff at tea and lunch breaks. Yet today, as we walked towards the large shipping container turned AIDS clinic, a hopeless weeping was very clear. The woman looked to be in her late thirties, and I can only speculate as to what might have been the problem, but it was a good reminder that life is not clean, neat, or easy and sometimes it is just downright miserable. I wish I could think on my feet and figure out some profound conclusions from this, but for now I'm just left with the picture. What will my response be?

*Lots of thoughts and struggles in what it means to be a white American here, and how people perceive us/me... I don't really have time to expand on this -- maybe later.