Ok, I suck at time management, I do. Especially around the house. I try to plan out my day, but always get sidetracked by other things.

But, when I have appointments, I'm one anal bitch. Last Thurs, I had my whole day planned out. I had purposely made a dr's appointment for 10 o'clock so i could take Hadi to her class at nine and be at the doctor's by 9:45. i get kind of pissy when someone throws a wrench in my plan. i'm only good at being spontaneous when the spontaneity is my idea.

i get up at 4:30, wake hubby up for work, get z up at 5, take hubby to work and shuffle z out the door at 6 to catch the bus. i have about an hour/hour and a half for a little nappy before i have to take a shower.

i had heard hadi up at 7 for her morning prayer(which she does like clockwork, i tell you) so i doze a few more minutes then take my shower, thinking she's getting ready for school.

when i emerge from my room at about 8:05, i hollar through her door, "hadi, are you almost ready?"

she answers the door, not dressed and having just woke up.

"aren't you going to school?" i ask.

she say's "you have an appointment"

i explain, AGAIN, that i made the appointment so i'd have time to take her to school first. she says, "you can just take me when you're done."

i'm thinking, crap, i had planned on getting groceries when i was done and that fucks everything up for me.

then she informs me that she's not going to school, but to braid and i can come get her about 7 that night. no, i tell her, we have trivia and that won't work. i explain that i have nothing to do friday and i'd be happy to take her to braid then, but if she wants to go to school i have time to drop her.

i swear, sometimes talking to her, because of the language issues, is like pulling fucking teeth.

she says ok, she'll go to school. OMG. by this time it's almost 8:30. on a good day, it takes about 15-20 minutes to drive her there. on a bad day, it takes thirty minutes to get through the morning cluster-fuck of traffic to get there.

and of course, she doesn't even come downstairs until 8:37, then she has to eat something. i'm pacing around the living room about to have an stroke.

i've learned that africans are like island people, they seem to have no concept of time. they move at a snail's pace and are unconcerned with any body else's schedule.

however, she has to have some concept of time, because you can just about set your watch by the times she has to pray. she herself gets a little worked up if she can't pray at the time she needs too. being in america, she's had to adjust a little, but those morning and dusk prayers she pretty anal about herself.

i guess tho i'm a little jealous. i wish many times i didn't feel so rushed or so glued to being on time. but you know, we american's are constant clock watchers and we consider it rude or inconsiderate if we're late. man, our culture really fucks us up sometimes.

but finally, i can breathe a sigh of relief. they moved out this weekend so i will no longer have to play chauffer. i didn't mind too much helping her, but the gas was killing us, and when she went to night school or to braid, it mucked up my dinner schedule.

as much as she ticked me off sometimes(totally my issues), I will miss her a lot. She's a kind, pure hearted person. She doesn't belong in America and she realizes this. but she's the one person i know won't be spoiled/tainted by this country...she's much too stubborn.