Daily Fail #5 - The Hexed Hoop
As seen in one of my more recent posts, I've made it clear that I am no good at basketball. No, that's an understatement. I'm terrible at basketball. I thought perhaps repeated practice (we go everyday!) would improve my skill...but alas, my housemates should still be ashamed to be seen on the court with me. In fact, it's so bad, I've started blaming it on the hoop. Evidence for this demon hoop can be read below:
On our last outing to the court, during our normal warm up, I threw the ball in such a way that it got wedged between the basket and the backboard. Having already thrown Ania's shoes, and some rocks at it, and after having attracted a small crowd for my foolishness, we needed another way to get the ball down. Just as Stu was saying we needed a stick, an old lady who had been watching hobbled over to the fence and held out her crutch for us to use. Embarrassed at our helplessness, but grateful for her offering, we used it to get the ball down, and recieved some applause for the occasion.
Embarrassed, I cursed the hoop with every obscenity I could manage (under my breath of course) and vowed to get a basket in. Well, I tried, and tried, and tried, with no such luck. Even the most carefully aligned shots managed to bounce off the ring and back onto the court. Having pretty much given up on free throws, we started a one vs. one vs. one game. And yes that is as confusing as it sounds. Cornered by Stu, and too stubborn to give up ball without a fight, I lobbed the ball backwards over my head, not looking, to get it away from him. Wouldn't you know? It swooshed through the basket in a perfect arch shot. Go figure.
Daily Fail #4 - Purple Pinky
While waiting to go out and explore Lima this Sunday, I opted for a rare moment of girlishness by painting my nails. The streets are so dusty here that even a few minutes outside in sandals turns your feet a nice shade of brown, and I thought that if I painted my nails, perhaps my feet wouldn't look as dirty all the time. Anyway, I painted them without incident, and then left to explore for the day. When we came back from our adventures, I attempted to tidy up my work space by picking up my things and moving them back into my bedroom. As I grabbed the bottle of nail polish, I realized (much too late of course) that I had forgotten to screw the top back on, and in essence I ended up grabbing the entire brush - and all the purple nail polish covering itThe result was a delightful, thick covering of purple polish over my entire right hand. No matter how hard I scrubbed with Purell, this stuff would not come off. So I ended up spending the entire evening (and all of today) with a purple right hand. I look like a walking eggplant.
Daily Fail #3 - The Karikuy Kitty
In addition to two dogs, Julio has a cat, whom he has appropriately named Karikuy. Now, anyone who knows me well, knows that I love small furry animals, and I was dying to meet and adore this cat. Unfortunately, the cat lives out on Julio's balcony and the large flat roof of the house, and doesn't really make an appearance inside the house, unless by accident.
Well, yesterday morning Julio accidentally let Karikuy out of the room, and I found him sitting in my bed when I got back from getting a drink of water from the kitchen. I immediately started using that stupid baby voice that all people use when talking to small animals, and the cat launched itself at me in adoration. (Apparently it's super needy since it's often ignored when it's outside all day). Long story short, I spend a good 15 minutes running from room to room trying to get this stupid cat from to stop following me like a drooling puppy. Eventually, I gave up and stood still so it could rub against my legs and I could pet it. Well, Karikuy took it as an open invitation to get up close and personal with me, and started climbing me like a tree. Mid-way up my torso and about 10 painful claw-grabs later, Julio happened to come out of his room, which made the cat release and scurry back onto the balcony.
Daily Fail #2 - Terrible Tea
I had the pleasure of trying cinnamon clove tea for the first time yesterday at breakfast. It's similar to the black tea I am used to at home, but with a light, sweet punch to it. The tea alone is sweet but adding a small bit of sugar really makes it delicious. This morning at breakfast I spotted what I thought was the sugar, and added a teaspoon of it to my tea, hoping to recreate the drink I had enjoyed the previous day. Unfortunately I had managed to mistake the salt bowl with the sugar bowl, and the result was quite...err...unique.
Daily Fail #1 - Shocked in the Shower
Our shower here at the house is warmed by electricity, not gas, and is therefore hooked up to an outlet. To use the shower, we turn a handle to start the water and then flip an electrical switch to activate the power. Ignoring one of the first instructions I got from Julio, our host, I stupidly attempted to adjust the water pressure, while wet, after I had turned on the power. This resulted in a rather large and wholly unpleasant jolt of electricity. Needless to say, I learned my lesson, and will probably just stick with cold showers for the time being.
