A really positive day!

"It's the most wonderful time of the year!"
Have you heard that song?
Christmas Eve 2024 turned out to be a day of meeting friends.

On this morning, my glasses were a spectacle. They had gotten broken on the Sunday before while I was dancing. Yes, the doctors after my RTA cleared me for some side-to-side movement and common African dancing fits right into that narrative. Charles, my Partycrew buddy and our host, had helped glue the glasses after this Sunday night incident. Monday night on December 23rd of all nights, the glue gave up. Because I was going to meet one of my Presec buddies, I decided to wear a Presec Gigi that has a hoodie. Appropriate for the weather you know. As for the glasses, I figured since I would be in Washington, DC, I might find some solution somewhere. 

A Museke related buddy Koby Maxwell picked me up and we headed towards Washington, DC. He is not just a musician, he is an actor, film producer, etc. You could guess the conversations when someone who lives in Ghana and someone who lives in the US who has businesses and family in Ghana have when they meet. He has been buzzing from the outcome of the Ghanaian 2024 election (I ain't telling you won here) because he contributed a teeny weeny bit to it. He dropped me off at my MIT buddy Adjoa's house. Adjoa is 'specking' up a place for AirBnb, etc and we took a little tour. Really positive use of lots of the time available to her currently.

We were to meet my Presec buddy Adjetey Osekre who had chosen Union Market, DC as the rendezvous point. We whiled away some time catching up, discussing lots of things she has been up to and plans to do. "We just don't want to live longer, we want to be able to do many things longer". Adjoa and I went to Union Market in Washington, DC. First time. With my broken glasses. That Adjoa was going to help find some place in DC to mend. I couldn't read much of what I could see around me. But no p. 

At Union Market, I felt like eating something with guacamole so we went into another nearby building with a lot of shops, especially Latino ones. I stopped by one stall/stop/spot/whatchumacallit called Peruvian Brothers (I think)..... and I went close to read what they sold. I was curious.

Is this a Peruvian store? "Yes, but we are closed". Is this a Peruvian drink? "Yes". That is really cool, it is good to see these drinks from Peru. "Yes, it's a Peruvian cola. It has lemongrass in it". Oh wow, that is really cool. "For you, for Christmas, you can have this for free"

 For free! Because it's Christmas time! Right? Riiiiiiiiight. Nice people.

Osekre finally arrived and we caught up, discussing plenty things but for me, with one eye, one ear and 50% of the energy on the solutions. Osekre is a writer, singer, all-around creative, all-around business person in the arts. This must be stemming from all the chaa we chaaed in Presec. Funnily enough, the last time I had seen him was early 2020, and I was wearing this same Presec Gigi from Wear Ghana.

After seeing Adjetey off upon arrival of his Uber, I mentioned to Adjoa how we were talking about culture. It is 1 of the 3 theme words we chose for Barcamp Ghana in 2024. For Culture, we were looking at domestic tourism, our local foods, the way we live, our mindset and how we do things. 

Adjoa and I headed over to a CVS. We were looking for super glue. I could go around looking for it, but I just like talking to people - strangers, striking conversations, asking for help, figuring out how I can help, etc. Yeap, networking. I said to one of the shop attendants, "Where can I find the Super Glue?" "In aisle 9". Pause, wait for it. A few seconds later, she was leading us to aisle 9 to go find the item. "My glasses are broken and I want to glue it".

When she started speaking, I realised she was from Ethiopia. Can I say Habesha or nah? My wokeness level and is not quite there. The CVS manager came by and said I could use Gorilla Glue. This Ethiopian lady started cleaning off the glue that we had used on Sunday to stitch the glasses. She continued cleaning till she cleaned out all the glue. Adjoa was more surprised than I was. Just wow. And then she showed me the real solution to my broken glass problem.

I told her Amesegnalehu and then went to pay for the Gorilla Glue. Not until we saw a Black Santa toy at the front. Chocolate City baby! This was the CVS near 1200 1st St NE, DC, near Noma. Check them out. Adjoa suggested a couple of solutions to the eye-glass thing, to add to the generous suggestions made by strangers I met at a Ghanaian party on Sunday. 

I started considering whether to take the Metro to a station close to Laurel, or to take Uber or Lyft home. Lyft was cheaper. Maybe it is the Christmas Cheer, but they gave me more than a 50% discount. $20 for a lift from NE DC to Laurel, Maryland. Yes, it is a great price. Adjoa said something like I have been very lucky today. Yes! What did they say luck was? Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity

My Lyft driver was also Ethiopian, I could tell from the name Abel. I did not tell him about Girma Goitom Gemechu but we discussed the significance of the name Ato in Ethiopia. You could guess the conversations we had on my way home. He started with: "Some Lyft customers complain for anything. They come late and then they still complain". I ain't complaining. I did not tell him Merry Christmas in Amharic. 6 hours to Christmas at this point, with much less drama than the movie of the same name.

What a day though!

Stay positive.