insomniac

I'd consider myself a jack of some trades and master of none, but there is one thing that I'm pretty darn good at - sleeping.  I actually get in trouble when I go visit my parents because I sleep too much, like we revert back to high school and my mom yells at me.  However, I've noticed over the past 6ish months that my sleeping skills are diminishing and I'm really unhappy about it.  This week I've hit an all-time low and I'm teetering on insomniac status.  I cannot sleep.  I think this is another one of those "Johnson traits," right up there with my curly hair and big nose - love you Daddio!

I should mention that if I don't get my 8-hour slumber, I am a total nightmare.  I'm actually not mad that Chad is avoiding my phone calls because I don't even want to talk to myself (just kidding, he's not really avoiding me...i think.)  My poor co-workers have gone into disaster relief mode and are trying every trick in the book to help me sleep.  I've tried Malaysian "flower tea," some all-natural herbal sleeping pill, offers of Ambien (which I kindly declined to avoid an inevitable sleepwalking episode) and my Cajun construction rep bought me 15 beers Thursday night...15, seriously?!?  

The good news is that it rained all day yesterday and I had the most heavenly lunchtime nap.  I woke up with sheet marks all over my body, confirmation of a serious hibernation-style nap.  Last night was actually the best night's sleep that I've had since I got to camp, and I'm thinking today will be a great nap day...so things seem to be turning around :)    

Even though I have been a zombie, it has been a super productive week.  We still have a few months of construction and commissioning left, but our team is already starting to break up.  The thing that I love and hate most about projects is that they come to an end.  I get antsy pretty easily, so I am always ready to start something new, but at the same time I get so sad when I realize that this end means my "family" that I've built over time starts to change.  Mr. Tomas Dembe, our civil inspector and one of the first people that was mobilized to the project about the same time as I was, is moving on next week.  I am beyond THRILLED for him because he has been offered a position with the Facilities Engineering Construction group as an inspector, meaning he will be able to hold a steady job for many years to come.  I've written about Tomas several times, and I can't think of anyone with a bigger heart than that man.  Not only that, he is humble, grateful, and eager to learn.  He is married to one woman, has taken in her brother, Isaac, as his own child, and he has two kids of his own, Sarah and Jeremiah.  He is so proud of his family and I am so proud that we have given him the opportunity to continue to support his loved ones.  Words cannot express how much I'm going to miss seeing his smiling face everyday...   

Tomas and I in November, 2013

Last week making everyone laugh at lunchtime :)

 Aside from work, we've finally got (almost) everything planned for our Africa vacay.  We had a change of heart and decided to skip Mozambique and head to Victoria Falls instead.  So in T-9 days I'll head to Namibia (Windhoek to Swakopmund), South Africa (Cape Town & Franschhoek), Zimbabwe & Zambia (Victoria Falls), Kenya (Nairobi & Maasai Mara), back to Cape Town and then back to work.  I'm so excited to see more of this amazing continent!  

Happy Super Bowl Sunday to everyone back home!  There are some crazies over here that are going straight to be this afternoon to get up and watch starting at midnight tonight.  I'm not planning on attending, but if my insomnia comes back, I may make an appearance...  

12 days down, 9 to go!  xoxo...