I am in Gulu tonight on an end of the month debt collection trip in my sales territory. I left Lira this morning with an accountant from head office in Kampala who came along with a vehicle from credit control department driven by one of the pool car drivers. So, I am not at the wheel today.
My car is still in the garage for repair following the accidentit was involved in more than two weeks ago. There has been a lot controversy over the circumstances of the accident, especially who was at the wheel at the time of the accident and I have been through a bit of questioning by the audit department that may or may not lead my sacking. Well, I have taken it in stride and chosen to work normally despite the stress it is fanning up.
I have covered so far a quarter of this four day journet that will take me through at least five major towns and districts of northern Uganda. We left Kitgum this afternoon having arrived from Lira at about lunch time and we hope to leave for Adjumani at about 10am tomorrow, from where we shall proceed to Moyo and cross over the Nile to Yumbe, on to Arua.
By thursday, we should have covered Nebbi, Pakwach, Oyam and Apac. Hopefully, we shall be back to Lira on Friday where I hope to get on the bus home to Tororo as the accountant and the driver get back to Kampala.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Home With Family
I had quite a wonderful time home in Entebbe with family and friends last week despite the hardship of geting around without a car in a rainy season. Emmy was quite a handful but that is what made it fun being with him.
We went together to Kampala on Friday the 9th October, Uganda's Independence Day for the annual Uganda Manufacturers' Association International Trade Fair. It was not that exciting as it has been for us in the past years. There were so many people at the show, especially school children, causing lots of congestion and lack of concentration on any particular item. The mistake that we made this time round was to go on a day that was a public holiday when most people was be free to go out and hang. Well, Emmy's presence made all the difference for me. He was attending his first trade fair and witnessing the biggest gathering of people in one place for the first time.
The way Emmy conducted himself amid the sea of people was just amazing. He was not perturbed by any particular thing. He smiled, jerked, shouted, waved and did a lot of eating. He did not have the slightest intention to dose in the four hours we were at the show as he had already had some sleep on the way from Entebbe to Kampala. But he had a sound sleep on the way back.
When we got back home, Emmy made loud noises and moved vigorously around the the seating room; probably his excitement was an expression what he had witnessed and was also glad to get back home to play ball and tell stories in his own langauge. He smiled in his sleep later that night despite moments of crying over something that appeared symptoms of flu.
It was not so exciting to leave Emmy on Saturday morning when I traveled back to Lira through Tororo. Emmy cried as I walked away from the house in Entebbe and seemed to understand that it was not for just a while that I was moving away.
Trudy was not particularly happy save for the day we went for the show. She had some intermitent spotting and nasal bleeding that has persisted for quite a while now. I only hope that today's review at Mengo Hospital will bring some good results.
I will off to West Nile tomorrow for a field trip with my supervisior that will take us as far as koboko after we have been to Pakwach, Nebbi, and Arua. I might probably return to Lira on Friday and then travel Eastwards to Tororo for the weekend.
We went together to Kampala on Friday the 9th October, Uganda's Independence Day for the annual Uganda Manufacturers' Association International Trade Fair. It was not that exciting as it has been for us in the past years. There were so many people at the show, especially school children, causing lots of congestion and lack of concentration on any particular item. The mistake that we made this time round was to go on a day that was a public holiday when most people was be free to go out and hang. Well, Emmy's presence made all the difference for me. He was attending his first trade fair and witnessing the biggest gathering of people in one place for the first time.
The way Emmy conducted himself amid the sea of people was just amazing. He was not perturbed by any particular thing. He smiled, jerked, shouted, waved and did a lot of eating. He did not have the slightest intention to dose in the four hours we were at the show as he had already had some sleep on the way from Entebbe to Kampala. But he had a sound sleep on the way back.
When we got back home, Emmy made loud noises and moved vigorously around the the seating room; probably his excitement was an expression what he had witnessed and was also glad to get back home to play ball and tell stories in his own langauge. He smiled in his sleep later that night despite moments of crying over something that appeared symptoms of flu.
It was not so exciting to leave Emmy on Saturday morning when I traveled back to Lira through Tororo. Emmy cried as I walked away from the house in Entebbe and seemed to understand that it was not for just a while that I was moving away.
Trudy was not particularly happy save for the day we went for the show. She had some intermitent spotting and nasal bleeding that has persisted for quite a while now. I only hope that today's review at Mengo Hospital will bring some good results.
I will off to West Nile tomorrow for a field trip with my supervisior that will take us as far as koboko after we have been to Pakwach, Nebbi, and Arua. I might probably return to Lira on Friday and then travel Eastwards to Tororo for the weekend.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
In Rainy Kampala
I am in Kampala for an abrupt monthly sales meeting and Regional editors' meeting. I was not expecting to attend the rgional vernucular newspapers' editors meeting that included the two ne radio stations' news editors and programme managers. I expected to be in Kampala next week, though, for the monthly sales meeting.
I arrived in Kamapala at 1am Tuesday night having left Lira by bus at 5.30 pm. The reason for using the bus is obvious; my official vehicle got involved in an accident mid Monday morning and is awaiting lifting to Kampala for repair.
The last four days have been tough days for me on how to get around and perform my official duties without an official vehicle. The rainy weather has not been so supportive in that direction. Right now I should be out of head office doing some window shopping in town of at the Uganda manuifacturers' Association International Trade fair at Lugogo but I am stuck in here becuase it is raining. I have so many other commitments; like debt collection and some private work back home in Tororo that I just cannot do without a vehicle.
On the other hand, though, it has been interesting geting back to the real life of commuting by taxi from home in Entebbe to head office in Kamapala these two days. I had a nap in a traffic jam after browsing a few chapters of some magazine that I bought a few week's ago but just could not settle down to read. That brought back memoeries of the times I was working here at head office herein Kampala.
Traffic jams were a time for to read my newspapers, books or magazines for I always carried something along for reading and eventually I dozed a bit to make up for lost sleep. And that just what I liked this morning on my way from Entebbe. I had a chance to read and relax while somebody else took care of the wheel and the stress of that comes with haywire driving in Kampala traffic jams.
I reached office fresh and enlightened on a few health and fitness issues from the magazine that I perused and I did not have to doze in the meeting. That has been the upside of having no car to drive, at least today. The down side was, I had to listen to may loud mobile phone converstations that I did need to from some mindless passengers in the commuter taxi.
It is amazing how louder Uganda has just got. Music every where from street corners, phones and in the back of lorries from loud speakers. It is a noisy world we are living in. Thank God for a quite home to return to at the end of the day if you are lucky man like myself.
I arrived in Kamapala at 1am Tuesday night having left Lira by bus at 5.30 pm. The reason for using the bus is obvious; my official vehicle got involved in an accident mid Monday morning and is awaiting lifting to Kampala for repair.
The last four days have been tough days for me on how to get around and perform my official duties without an official vehicle. The rainy weather has not been so supportive in that direction. Right now I should be out of head office doing some window shopping in town of at the Uganda manuifacturers' Association International Trade fair at Lugogo but I am stuck in here becuase it is raining. I have so many other commitments; like debt collection and some private work back home in Tororo that I just cannot do without a vehicle.
On the other hand, though, it has been interesting geting back to the real life of commuting by taxi from home in Entebbe to head office in Kamapala these two days. I had a nap in a traffic jam after browsing a few chapters of some magazine that I bought a few week's ago but just could not settle down to read. That brought back memoeries of the times I was working here at head office herein Kampala.
Traffic jams were a time for to read my newspapers, books or magazines for I always carried something along for reading and eventually I dozed a bit to make up for lost sleep. And that just what I liked this morning on my way from Entebbe. I had a chance to read and relax while somebody else took care of the wheel and the stress of that comes with haywire driving in Kampala traffic jams.
I reached office fresh and enlightened on a few health and fitness issues from the magazine that I perused and I did not have to doze in the meeting. That has been the upside of having no car to drive, at least today. The down side was, I had to listen to may loud mobile phone converstations that I did need to from some mindless passengers in the commuter taxi.
It is amazing how louder Uganda has just got. Music every where from street corners, phones and in the back of lorries from loud speakers. It is a noisy world we are living in. Thank God for a quite home to return to at the end of the day if you are lucky man like myself.
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