"What Fresh Hell is THIS???" Part 2.....

I have been off my feed BIG TIME this past week.

First, I caught a wicked cold while I was out in Western Kenya. It's my own durned fault for not dressing warmly enough. Something is making me resist behaving like it's Winter over here, just because there's no snow or sub-arctic temps.

But it got downright bone-chilly while I was in Kakamega, and the mornings in Eldoret were nippy, too. Naturally, I didn't bring a jacket, and most of my shirts were tees or thin, long-sleeved types.

By the time I got back to Nairobi, I was snuffling and achy, and nursing a minor sore throat. But DAMN if hot toddies don't do the trick....put enough brandy in 'em, and you don't give a shit about the cold symptoms. I also found this cold medication called "Day Nurse, Night Nurse," which actually sounds like the title of a porn flick or something. But it really works. I started feeling much better yesterday.....

...until I became a victim of identity theft. You know, I always thought I'd never have to worry about that booming phenomenon. I figured if anybody tried to use my credit, by the time they got out of jail, they'd be completely reformed. I never considered the possibilty that someone could hack into your email account and send out bogus messages in your name.

That's just what happened to me, my peeps. I was at my friend Jackie's house last night, feasting on marinated goat leg and roast pumpkin, when she got a text message from my former Gulu colleague Akiki. Turns out my Kampala computer tech buddy Peter had received this email saying that I was stranded in London and desperately needed 1,500 pounds ASAP. Peter called The Intern, who now lives in Kampala and works with him, and they pondered whether or not it was legitimate. Then THEY called Akiki, who texted Jackie.

There I sat, just as innocent as a lamb, surely thinking this would be a minor kerfluffle that could be straightened out with a few computer keystrokes when I got home. Well, the jerk really screwed me over, because he sent the email to everybody in my Yahoo address book!!! I was up half the night reassuring family and friends that I wasn't holding a tin cup outside of Buckingham Palace begging for tuppence.

But you know what?? I was totally moved by how many of my friends and family were ready to send whatever they had to help me out. It's like, if there was any chance that the email actually WAS from me, and I DID need help, they were poised to spring into action.

Heck, my homegirl Veronica was even looking into flight schedules. I'm telling you, I am richly blessed.

And it could have been a whole lot worse. Just suppose the hacker had been some perv and sent out a pornographic e-mail with my address.....though come to think of it, I've already been mistaken for a 'hoe so many times it probably wouldn't have made much of an impact.

Sigh. Just another zany chapter in "The Adventures of Princess Rachella." Once my nerves settle, I'll be back with regular posts and pics.