Gothic Redemption

As mysteriously as they arrived, the Gothic Tribes are all heading back to their traditional lands tomorrow (the Visigoths already left on Monday). While the Goths were here there was a demand that the Imperial Family allow the Combined Tribes to produce photographic evidence that they had indeed captured the Imperial Family (such things bringing a lot of street cred to your barbarian tribe). 

Thus all were gathered to participate.

 Sino_Goth Princess Pu Lee Shah had arranged for a photographer.

Photographer trying to herd the cats known as the Goths

 

Gothic Princesses showing they truly have captured the Imperial Family

 

Nothing says Gothic Street Cred than having a civilized picture with the Imperials as 2.1 has in this shot.

Three Generations

 

The Ostrogoths 

Gothic Children

In addition to having to have our capture documented photographically, it was demanded that a feast be prepared for the occasion. I had gone out and secured large portions of meat and had them smoked and grilled. But to my surprise (and joy), the younger Goths all declared they wished to cook with his Imperial Excellence, de-I. 

Now one can be excused as wondering if this is merely a show. "Hey let's show up in the kitchen. Get some photo ops. And post them for Gothic street cred. But NO! These Goths came to COOK. They knew the dishes they wanted to prepare and prepare them they did. All his Excellency de-I did was make sure they had what they needed when they needed. It was magical.

Getting Started

(Can you believe #2/Pu Lee Shah was trying to get her new phone set up for 2 hours among all the chaos of the kitchen)

 Deeply Engaged in Gastronomic Activity

Enjoying the Fruits of Their Labors

Gothic Invasion Truly Commences

The word came from our informants, first as a rumor, then as a statement of fact. It was time for the true Gothic invasion. The notorious Ostrogoths (Goths from the East, in this case Sweden) had set their eyes on New Mexico to plunder and bring back Green Chile. 

The Empire is not without its defenses though. Our agents caused a worldwide computer outage hoping to catch the Goths in mid-flight. We failed. We had our timing off by a day. Now they approach. And the Sinogoths, who we had deceived and sent up to Colorado (telling them there were easier pickings there) have sent an angry note that they will be back, and back soon!

And if that were not enough, these Gothic tribes invited their brethren, the Visigoths to join in the plundering as well.

All Is Lost!

Transition 8.5.3.b238.Alpha Version 2024

While researching this post by going back over all the posts I've made labeled 'Transition', I was a bit overwhelmed by the number of times I've proclaimed (like Star Trek) the 'Final  Frontier' of transitioning had been reached. Actually the last year or so, I've gotten much better at understanding and accepting that I never really 'transitioned' from one state to another. What happened is I left a steady state as a working adult and entered a state of near constant transitioning, hence the recent exposition and acceptance of de-I and Wife's life as a telenovela. So with our telenovela imagery firmly in mind let's delve into the latest plot twist.

I exposed in my most recent post the 'Other Project', the work I've been doing with the Rotary Club to End Human Trafficking. This project, the Economic Development Initiative (EDI), has energized our club like nothing I've seen since I joined the club. Here is the kicker. When I put together my initial ideas, I made a bold statement. I said, "For Economic Development in the areas we are targeting to truly work, we have to take a long, long term perspective. We must think in terms of generations." And I made an analogy of how long it took a tree sprout to become a mature giant. 

So with our club and its outside supporters buying into this, I began thinking, "How does one actually pull this off?" Well, one has to have an organization that has institutional memory, and a solid set of values that are lived and not talked about. You have to have all this institutionalized so it is not tied to any one individual. 

OOPSIE. This is where I realized that something was going to have to change significantly within my social impact efforts. To be blunt, up until now, I've had what might be called a lifestyle or vanity social impact enterprise. It was based on me without much thought as to what would happen after me. The evolution of Theodora Ghana Virtual Assistants and women in that program started to change that. But his new EDI program with its promises totally changed that. Now I was faced with the reality that for this program to fulfill its promise, there would need to be a managing entity that could survive without me.

In essence it means changing my 'lifestyle/vanity' non-profit into a genuine organization that can operate and promote the vision for many, many years to come. Not something I've ever done before. Sounds like yet another whole set of transitioning requirements.

Transition Bullet Train I am getting on board. 

Meanwhile At The Other Project

Other project you say?

What other project?

 

As I perused my blog posts over the last few years I noticed a rather interesting gap, a lack of posting related to another project I have been working on in parallel with Theodora Africa. This is the Rotary Club to End Human Trafficking Economic Development Initiative or EDI for short.

 

The story behind EDI is a classic tale of ‘Be Careful What You Ask For. You Might Get It!  😱

 

Let’s start at the beginning.

 

Once upon a time there was a cynical man who wanted to use Rotary for his own half-baked scheme to give back. He successfully got a small local club to not stop him from running off to Africa in the name of the club pursuing a dream which any one of thousands upon thousands of prior social impact Westerners could have told him was grounded in all the wrong assumptions.

 

But as fate would have it, the powers that be had decided to use him instead! And thus the crazy ride that became Theodora Africa was launched. But it was clear that this project didn’t belong in the small club where he had started with. The Rotarian who first had me join Rotary told me of the Rotary Club to End Human Trafficking. I joined and was quickly tagged to be on the board.

 

But, I was frustrated. I saw our founders had a great vision. They saw this club as a force motivating the power of Rotary International behind this one mission. However, there was no clear pathway to action. There was a lot of talk and focus on Awareness. Awareness is certainly important. But awareness by itself will not overcome a problem. There needs to be tangible action.

 

In my mind, based on my Theodora experience, I was convinced that lack of economic opportunity was one of the most significant root problems enabling human trafficking. I had a bunch of ideas how, we as a Rotary club could build a program. Partnering with one of the members I’d recruited who was an entrepreneur facilitation expert, I began doing research and wrote a White Paper to present to the board calling for us to develop our own economic development program.

 

We have very, very few people in our club who are business people. I was pretty darn sure that the board would smile politely and shelf the whole thing. I would have made my attempt and could go back to being a backbench member. It was to my shock and horror that our founding President LOVED IT! She said it was going to be our foundational effort.

 

Damn.

 

Fast forward one year. We held our kick-off meeting last Thursday. We had one of the largest turnouts of any meeting since I’ve been in the club. 37 people from four continents were there. We had 8 non-club members from Africa alone. We have our first pilot project MOU in Tamale Ghana to be signed in August (I will be there in person). We have another Ghana organization, the Kumasi Central Mosque, interested in partnering with us, an NGO in Lusaka Zambia, and another organization in Jos, Nigeria.

 

As I said in the beginning, be careful what you ask for.

Chocolate Mousse, A Gastronomic Poem

It is dark brown with crown of white like a mountain in winter. Atop the white are boulders of brown like the base.

I take my spoon and slowly push it through the layers. I have had this delicacy earlier in the week. I am determined to savor every bit of the experience. The feel is one of resistance. It is not soft or fluffy. It has substance. I very purposely take a small amount on my spoon getting all three elements.

 

I take it in my mouth. The first sensation is one of silky smoothness. As I push my tongue against it, that feeling is reinforced. There is a counterpoint between the thick creamy smoothness of the chocolate mousse, and the softer silkiness of the whipped cream. My teeth feel the strong resistance of the chocolate chunks and nuts sprinkled on the top. I smooth the whole mixture across my tongue.

 

The flavor is intense chocolate. It borders on that bitterness one gets from the strongest of chocolates, but the creaminess and sweetness mellow it out.

 

How slowly can I eat and savor this, this labor of love from Wife? I intersperse my tastes with sips of cognac.

 

No matter how slow I go, it will be too fast and it will disappear except for the sweet memory and appreciation of her artistry.

Return Of The Goths

We here at the Imperial Capital of de-I Land, much as the Romans of old are subject to various barbarian invasions. Mostly from the Goths. It is a constant ebb and flow. Sometimes the Empire is the one on the offensive. Imperial intelligence has been warning us for months that a massive coordinated Gothic attack was in the works. 

The first wave of attackers, intelligence told us would be the SinoGoths. They were on one of their many migrations, this time from China. They are led by the arch enemy, Queen Pulisha, she who once told us the only tribute we that could stay their invasion was New Mexico Green Chile in vast quantities (see link above). 

As luck would have it, their voyage from China to New Mexico was exhausting. Rather than attack us, we were able to play the role of magnanimous hosts and assuage their travel weary bodies and souls with cheese, bread, fruit, olives, wine, and a place to crash. 

We took them to a resettlement village today in hopes they will see this as a reasonable place to plunder until they head off on their next migration. However, there is rumor of more Gothic attacks in the immediate future. 

Theodora Update - The Baby Is Growing Up

It's like parenthood. It's not easy. It takes a long time. There are many times along the way when you are pulling your hair out. You wonder if you and they are going to make it.

Then.

One day.

You look at that person (or in this case venture) you nurtured and agonized over for so long and realize...

"I think they're going to make it. I think they're going to be okay."

 You know there is a long way to go. Life is a long, long, long series of tests that never stop until you give up the ghost. So, sure, there are going to be a lot more crises and events. But you have this feeling that your young charge has the ability to rise to the occasion. 

Let's go into some specifics.

The first quarter of the year we hit breakeven, even made a little profit. But we still had a bunch of bumps in the road. The attempt to move out of an office and go completely virtual bombed completely. The person I'd tried to make manager (over her objections I should state) imploded and we had a near revolt among the staff. We finessed the situation. We found a new office. We achieved peace.

Then I went through my own personal crises. I realized I had to stop working so hard. I kind of made an ultimatum to the team that they to had to take responsibility for the day-to-day stuff that was stressing me out or I was done (we maybe should do another post on how in Ghana no one listens to you until you are an asshole). This led to another outcry among the staff. But we worked our way through that as well. 

Now is where it gets interesting. Call it the law of unintended consequences working in your favor. 

The one person on the team who I've felt has the most potential and talent, but who has resisted mightily taking on more responsibility, suddenly starts acting managerial!

Two of our weaker people opt out, one by taking a leave of absence without pay, the other going to contractor status (so we only pay based on what we bill). This brings our payroll down so we are now in balance with our billings. It gets all our people to a point where they are being fully utilized.

Our ex-manager, now contractor, is producing at a prodigious rate, is handling a couple of our toughest clients, and projects. She's happy. We're happy. it is great.

The few issues that have come up that would normally have eaten at me, have been taken care of by my two managers without me even. 

I am teaching these two how to manage cash flow week-to-week. We had a meeting today. One of them said, "de-I you seem so happy now." I answered, "Sure I do. I am happy. Because you two are taking charge, thinking through the problems, and coming up with solutions so I don't have to. I can be a true CEO and work on the big picture now."

So there you have it. We have many more dramas to come because that is life. But I feel these young women are taking ownership of their business and future...at last.