Trip to AA was not productive. To be expected sometimes here, of course. Here's the situation -- various problems that tangle together: Car is NOT fixed after all (the repair is a condition of the car sale.) The garage owner is deeply distracted by medical and business problems. He forgets to order parts, forgets when you have an appointment, ignores phone calls and messages -- so to make an appointment with him you have to GO to the garage. He's been so good and is such a good fellow that I don't want to go looking for a new mechanic -- dicey under any circumstances here anyway. The Federal gv't has decided to make some new burdensome demands on all biz owners like me. It's got to do with their pension program. They've apparently not kept good records and now want us to supply copies of ours. This sort of thing happens all the time at different ministries. Maybe once a year there is a big flurry, and the agency in question is always aggressive about it -- lots of threats about deadlines and requirements. The papers they require from me are being held by the Ministry of Revenues to do the audit that's required for the tax clearance that I must show the Road Transport Authority before they'll let me sell the car. The audit is stalled and I've missed my clearance deadline with the buyer, Fekade. Fekade is coming to A Alem (here) tomorrow. We will see if he gets nasty or understands the situation. Don't you love it???? Oh yes, also my landlady refuses to have the top priest here arbitrate. She says I must fire Abrahame or leave the rental. I intend to stall till I *%$#^*(*^&%*^ing disappear through the air back to the USA. The next to last photo shows me and her brother after a fight we had over it. Once again we agreed that we would never agree. One thing I am going to miss from here is the incredibly inexpensive and often exotic restaurants (If you can't see the photos, email me offline and I'll send them). [Posted in FML 7898]