Sleepless in Kabul

3:00 am, Saturday

I just got back to Kabul this afternoon, and I am falling victim to the 3 am jet lag that is required. Nice. I thought I might sleep well—I stayed up past 11 tonight, had 2 precious beers left behind by Bob, appropriated by Afzal, and then consumed by me. But alas, I may not cheat the sleep gods, who have not yet changed time zones with me.

It is possible that I have too many challenges ahead, and am too geared up for them. For instance, I am spending my first (partial) night in my new room, so I officially moved in this evening. I had an eventful first night, including:
--I have two outlets in my room. If I get a an extension cord and try to plug the air conditioner into the extension cord (so that I wouldn’t have to dedicate on precious outlet solely to the air conditioner) the extension cord will, after 60 seconds, begin to spark like those cheap fireworks along the Potomac on the 4th, the plastic around the cord will begin to melt, and it will begin to catch on fire. (I agree, I am dumb).
--On the other hand, if I use outlet #2, the bathroom light will turn on when I plug into the outlet, and the power will flash on and off. If a computer is plugged into that outlet, it will beep on and off, which I decided wasn’t a very good thing (hey, at least I learn—I didn’t wait for sparks to shoot off).
--The glass shelf over the sink fell off—no great loss, as it was slanted forward about 15 degrees anyway.
--The shower rod fell down.
--I realized that the electric switch for the bathroom light is about 8” from the shower head, which may create a bit of a buzz during my morning shower. I am sure that they have grounded it well though, so I won’t worry.
--The new wardrobes have 2 shelves, about 3 feet apart, and no drawers. I spent 30 minutes trying to stack my socks and underwear, but could get no higher that 15” before they toppled. I had better luck with shirts, as they are inherently more stable when stacking.

So there it is. For those of you who feel it must be dangerous in Kabul, you need no further proof. Will I be electrocuted, killed in an electrical fire, hit over the head with a shower rod, or crushed by a wall of falling socks? Please, feel free to bet among yourselves.