"The Best There Could Ever Be"

Now, you might conclude that a person who's eager to read the evaluation forms from a training he or she organized and conducted is a either a glutton for punishment or is fairly certain they'll like what they see.

So to HELL with false modesty. I know how utterly zonked I was when I got home from Dar es Salaam Saturday, after the media training for malaria researchers, and how I had no idea where I'd dredge up the energy to tackle another one for radio reporters in less than 48 hours.

Actually, every time the alarm went off at 6 AM these past 3 days, another little piece of my soul withered. I've never been a morning person, and don't feel the need to apologize for it. For example, it's almost 10 PM in Nairobi now, and I know I won't be hitting the sack until after midnight. And it's okay, because that's the cycle my body is most comfortable with, for better or worse....

...AND because I leave for Kigali, Rwanda on Saturday morning to lead yet ANOTHER workshop. (Can I just interject here that I work hard for my money, so HARD for it,

honey???)

So, again I declare, "False modesty, BE GONE!" I have spent the past 3 days working the room, flashing my dazzling smile, hustling my butt, cracking jokes, chiding when necessary, sharing reporting war stories, poking, prodding, encouraging, pacing back and forth, lugging a big-assed backpack full of audio equipment and another shoulder back with my laptop, signing restaurant bills, chasing down hotel IT guys....

Just like I did in Gulu, and Addis, and Abuja, and Accra, and Zaria, and every other place I've worked as a media trainer and consultant, I knocked that bad boy outta the park. So when I poured my weary bones onto the couch at the Oasis after work this evening, I considered it my reward to carefully review those evaluations. Basically, I couldn't imagine that any of the reporters would say, "Rachel sucked, and we never want to endure her pompous rantings again." I just needed a little pick me up.

Well, my wish was granted. I snagged all fives--"Top O' The World, Ma!!" But one comment really jump-started slightly shredded, sleep-deprived soul. One of the reporters, in typically formal, reverent Kenyan English, embellished his superior ranking with the simple statement,

"She is the best there could ever be."

Now, that's sweeter than the gelato in my freezer, so I think I'll skip it tonight. Besides, I've got a coupla hours work ahead of me.