Running errands with Ouko in Malindi, Kenya!

So it’s been 4 days back in the United States. I don’t have much to say on the matter. What could I say? I made a home for myself in another country, one that for most people might as well have been another planet. Not many can relate.

I have flashes of Kenya everywhere I go. Anytime a song comes on that was part of my Kenya soundtrack (since I listened to pretty much the same 20gb of music for a year), I fade into a trance, remembering the horizons, the people, the places, and the smells that once accompanied the song.

I feel out of place, sluggish, sometimes fumbling mentally to feel at peace, to feel like I belong here, whatever that even means. I know it’s only a 4 day sample, but I asked my parents about their experience “coming back home” after spending their year in Kenya in 1999. Their response?

You never “feel normal” again.

And I knew that. I sensed it when I was home briefly for Christmas. And I guess I want to say that I’m okay with it.

In the meantime, I haven’t even really unpacked. Haven’t touched my photos or video. Haven’t done anything besides hang out with my cats, family, some friends, and brainstorm a web TV series with my film buddies. I’ve also watched a lot of baseball and gotten my new netbook (Samsung N120!) set up.

I’ve heard from my Kenyan friends and they wish me well. I also sent off a WSO logo to be used in the Kalasha Film Awards that are supposedly taking place in June now. We’ll see!

Okay, if you were wondering how I’ve been, there it is! Be well!

Just wanted to say congrats to my sister Mary and her husband Casey! As they would say in Kenya, they’re names have changed to Mama Sebastian and Baba Sebastian!

I always thought I might make a life-long documentary of my first niecephew, a project that I wouldn’t be able to finish, though could pass on to one of their cousins one day. But since I’m in Kenya and will miss the first year of his life or so, maybe someone else can film and interview on my behalf?

My selfish prophecy over this young one is that he will obviously have unmatched athletic skill and competitive fire and dedication, for his baseball pitcher daddy and every other sport in the world mommy can’t help that.

I’d like to see him lead the Houston Hawks high school baseball team to an unprecedented Alaskan state baseball championship in 2026, throwing 18 no hitters and and batting .884 (only getting line drive outs).

He will then be recruited by every swanky college team in the nation, but will opt instead to go straight to the minor leagues in the (who else) Houston Astros farm system.

He will struggle that first year and a half, but then it will click. He’ll race through AA and AAA and be a September call up for the 2029 Astros pennant chase, helping them beat the Pirates for the central title, as they go on to win their 8th World Series in 11 years.

That spring I will attend spring training in the new Space Station League that hovers above Georida (they will have combined their states after the US re-alignment from 50 states down to 36 – easier to put stars on a flag that way, and part of the economic bail out plan of 2020). I will be Sebastian’s guest of honor, as I’m making a movie of his life, after all!

From the Daily Nation, the leading newspaper in Kenya

Coming soon!

I was a track and field nerd for a bit of high school and know first hand the intensity of a relay race, being handed the baton, eyeing the man ahead of you, and making a plan to catch him. There’s nothing quite like it that I have experienced in my life since.

I ran the 4×800 and 4×400, which, in my day, was the first race and the last race of every meet. Talk about pressure! Those years have certainly built in me an appreciation for the Olympic games.

The 2008 Olympics start in a few weeks and I wish I could watch them. For starters, it’s the first time they’ll be completely in HD. But aside from the video quality, I would want to watch them on my own terms:

• I would not read, see, or hear a single result in any event.
• A week later I would get DVDs of entire events from beginning to end — such as every basketball game on one DVD, every track event on another, every field on another, etc. (TiVo would also work).
• I would watch the games at my leisure, with no cut aways to spoil other events, over the course of a month or two, one event at a time.

This way I can be caught up in the story of each event, of each athlete, straight through, without the NBC coverage jumping around the city to different stadiums for “This just happened!” moments.

Think about it: how can anyone truly enjoy watching 300 events going on at the same time crammed into 2 weeks? You might invest in 3 or 4 events, often getting up at 3 am to catch them live, but the overwhelming number of events and jump-around coverage make it impossible to get caught up in any event’s story.

While the media are at every event and capture the great stories as they happen, the time crunch and synchronous timing prevents them from reporting on an event satisfactorily. One must read the newspaper the next day to get a true summary of what storylines were intertwining when it came to finals time.

It’s a heck of a job to cover so many stories at the same time. It’s impossible, actually.

Can you imagine trying to watch the World Series, Super Bowl, NBA Finals, Stanley Cup, World Cup, Final Four, Spelling Bee, Kentucky Derby, Wimbledon, and US Open all within 2 weeks?

And that’s only 10 events! There are 302 events at the Olympics!

Alas, I’ll have to wait 4 years to give my way a try on my own, since I’ll certainly miss them this year with my lack of television access.

Oh to dream a dream…