baku, azerbaijan toentebbe, uganda viavienna andamsterdam

and we have a special delivery coming to schipol airport in old amsterdam, if you know what i mean.

i worked my ass off all week and then last night got the heavy heavy wasted. full crew. disco.

today i've worked and walked and shopped and photographed, i didn't get to finish the story about the dog or even start the one about the camel's toe or OK or the cage and then the tea or taking kids out to the factory and doing lines with them, shooting them or"what's with you and authenticity?"

malik was on the freak about some shit. he's our driver who speaks better english than today's interpreter, used to shoot for azeri tv and, before that russian tv. we've just had two consecutive days of at least near-incarceration so...

our other interpreter, najit, rocks baku so hard that i'm scared the entire city full of unfinished apartment buildings is just gonna shake down to the ground. lorrie, the soccer girl, was asked by nike to bring some of her national team jerseys (she did the world cup and olympics) and we decided we should all sign it and give it to him - they're nutbags for signatures out here.

speaking of nutbags, they have the greatest large nutsacks but the handy take-away nutsacks are completely unreliable.

there's been some really sad shit and some reassuring hopeful and beautiful shit to balance it out so far. i fear africa will be another story. not really fear, more suspect. whatever happens, it will be good for me.

so anyway, hook a dude up with seven malarone and i'll hook you up with more than just the reimbursement money - i'm talking about anything and everything you could ever want from a man like me, which can't be much since i speak almost no azeri and would be a horrible husband here since i have no sharkskin suits or super-pointy shoes.

here's to kwai river raft beds.

and you (even though i copied and pasted this from a message i sent) (it's hard out here for a pimp...)